


May your Heart(h) be your Guiding Key

by Retribrutus



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか | DanMachi | Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Anime)
Genre: Adventure, Dungeon, F/M, Family, Heartless (Kingdom Hearts) - Freeform, Keyblade Wielders (Kingdom Hearts), Keyblades (Kingdom Hearts), Magic, Monsters, Multi, Post-Kingdom Hearts II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:42:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 79,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28513608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Retribrutus/pseuds/Retribrutus
Summary: Losing everything in a war with no winners, watch as a wolf protects his new home and teach a new generation of Keyblade Wielders to protect no only the Monster infested world of Orario but also guard the very Universe from the corrupting clutches of Darkness itself.
Relationships: Bell Cranel/Ais Wallenstein/Liliruka Arde/Sanjouno Haruhime/Eina Tulle, Original Male Character/Hestia (Danmachi)/Iris Bennett/Tiona Hiryute/Aisha Belka/Ryuu Lion
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

_Hell._

_That's where he had found himself amongst this lifeless, barren wasteland littered with the keys of the fallen. Leaders. Heroes. Rivals._

_His friends…_

_Each lusterless key out of the endless legion embedded into the earth was a headstone for the poor souls who misguidedly brought into a war that was "prophesized" to inevitably happen. A desperate struggle for the light; pushing Unions, who were once cherished friends and allies into bitter, hardened enemies. There was no more love to be shared as all of the opposing sides spared no hesitation to end their fellow kinsman._

_The tensions were already high with Unions clashing over garnering the most "light". The greed and wrath were but the ammunition and the war that came was the trigger to let all of these negative feelings out and take the mind of every Wielder seeking to claim a Pyrrhic Victory for the glory of their own **accursed** Union._

_The bitterness of it all filled him with so much spite, but the target of said spite was not as simple as you would think. The outlet for his spitefulness wasn't the Foretellers – his own master. They were all scrambling for ways to prevent this suffering through what little guidance they had with their assigned roles. He couldn't possibly hold any of his fellow kin in contempt either, they just as him were as swayed to the agenda of their Unions as well and it was only through the vying conflict for light that all their rivalries devolved into bloody spats._

_No, the one that he wanted to curse with all of his might, was himself! His efforts to change or accomplish anything, or at least succeed at something, all amounted to nothing._

_He wasn't able to find and reunite with his best friend to fulfill the promise they made to keep going on more adventures._

_He couldn't find that girl…the one who was always watching him from afar. He was always aware, and waited for her to come to him, afraid that should he approach her, she would retreat._

_She looked lonely and…he wanted to see if she wanted to be friends. He could understand being by yourself after his own best friend was gone, so until she felt comfortable enough, he waited. But for some reason, he could no longer sense her poorly hidden gaze._

_Sadness had overwhelmed him as he couldn't figure out where to start in looking for her._

_Tensions were already high with the war on the horizon and everything afterwards tipping his decision to join it. However, he had at least wanted to ask around if there any Unions that were missing a Union that fit her description, but what always stumped his search came in the form of a question each Wielder gave him in order to elaborate: What was her name?_

_A question that ate away at him; a question that for all intents and purposes spoke volumes of his inaction to be bold enough to take the first step and introduce himself to her._

_If…If only he had the will to approach her, then would…would she have been around? Would her presence have been able to talk him into being spread throughout the other worlds like a Dandelion in the wind? Would they had been…friends._

_…_

_Lest he seek to be consumed by darkness, he festered onto less (barely) despairing thoughts, his final failure…_

_His pleas to his fellow Wielders to cast aside their simmering hatred and bloodlust fueling their need to partake in this blasted war reached no ears. He couldn't even convince those in his own Union to withdraw. His words reached no one so it was no surprise that they wouldn't reach the hearts of the Foretellers spearheading this unavoidable massacre of his comrades to begrudgingly fulfill the damned prophecy that the Great Master of Masters foresaw._

_That was why he only had one option left. A choice that required to deny the chance of his own salvation from the World-shattering war to come. He willingly joined the war himself just to save someone. Surely, if he was able to at least overpower a Master or two from the Unions, the others would see things his way and acknowledge his words._

_The odds were stacked against him, but so was every encounter until then._

_Up until now, he's encountered countless heartless. Though but imitations of the real thing projected from the Book of Prophecies, he's traversed through many worlds and combatted the Darkness to protect the many colorful lives that were threatened._

_He had faced Master Ava not once but twice, and though he was unable to grasp victory either time, he still carried the painful and exhilarating experience from combating with a Master imprinted in his heart._

_His brief feud with Master Aced though it was a spat that was mostly to humiliate him, he resolved himself to never forget the unforgiving blows that the Ursus Master's blade had upon his crumpling form._

_With the knowledge of his past defeats and his own perceived expectations of what all the Masters were capable of, he held onto the hope that maybe, perhaps a miracle to defeat one of the Union's foretellers could happen._

_Yet no miracle came._

_There was no miracle for him as he pitifully struggled to cling to life as Master Aced's blade threatened to leave him a mangled body in a ditch at the center of the battlefield…_

_There was no miracle for him as Master Invi's blinding speed had almost made him a pincushion for her blade…_

_There was no miracle for him as Master Gula's ferocious, unforgiving swordplay barely had left his already weary form that much closer to the brink of death…_

_There was NO miracle as Master Ava swooped into the war and mercilessly beat him down to an inch of his life, losing the once hopeful demeanor that warmed the hearts of many misguided Wielders. A hope that gave him the strength to keep going and save something, someone, ANYONE!_

_"…" The heavy rainfall on the battlefield matched the grim sight that spanned far out around him. Countless keyblades with no wielders save the earth below them, never to be held by those they have chosen._

_The heavy clanking of his busted blue and black Keyblade Armor echoed throughout the Battlefield, no, save for him, the area was now devoid of all life. This was now a graveyard…_

_Despite the insane amount of damage that the armor had been through, its motif of resembling a wolf was still apparent._

_His footsteps were heavy, and the blue orbs hidden behind the cracked visor of the helmet were losing what little light they had left. His body growing cold and he could feel it. Darkness was soon to claim him like all of the others._

_He was tired. In the end, nothing he did changed anything._

_No one was saved._

_Everything was gone._

_There was nothing left to protect or save. If it all didn't matter, then what was point of staving off death's embrace._

_"Gu-guh!"_

_Stopping mid-step, cute struggling noises from below him reached his ears. Looking down, he was met with a peculiar sight. A sight that was never going to get old or unwelcomed no matter how many times they caught his attention._

_It was his Chirithy, Chi. His best friend, his family, who's stuck with him through all of his travels and ordeals. Who's always made sure that his dreams were never plagued with nightmares. And made sure he wouldn't get *AHEM!* lost *AHEM!* despite him having an impeccable sense of direction._

_The poor thing was stained with mud and what looked like bruises from the rocky beaten ground beneath them as they only continued to push his armored legs forward. Their pudgy arms shook in vain to move despite the weight difference, but they didn't give up._

_"K-Keep…oof…going! For once you're finally going in the right direction! Guuuh!" The Chirithy pushed in vain but didn't let the tiring, unmoving Wielder discourage it. No matter the impossibility, they kept trying to make the possible happen._

_With a splat, they slid on the mud and fell on their face, which earned his concern and would have gained his support had they not picked themselves up to try again albeit with a more dirtied mien that didn't stifle their determination._

_"D-Don't give up!"_

_…What was he doing? No one left to protect or save? How much of an idiot could he be?_

_Even if he did die, then so would Chi. As was the fate of many other Chirithy bound to their Wielder. Seeing his little buddy work so hard just to keep him alive while he was contemplating to accept just keeling over just made him think of how shameful he was. He failed._

_But this wasn't the end. Tragedy may have taken his loved ones away along with everything he knew, but there were still things left to fight for. He looked down at his Chirithy determinedly nod back at him._

_…still things left to **live** for!_

_What once was an encroaching chill that felt like it would consume his heart was now replaced with a loving warmth that drove him to take another shaky step forward with the help of his trusty companion pushing him onward._

_As if translating the rekindled flame igniting in him for the world to see, a bright soon began to emit itself around him and his Chirithy just as an all-encompassing light through the cracks of the dissipating rain clouds. Too tired to even question what was happening, he merely picked up Chi and allowed himself to be engulfed by the light._

_Just as everything turned white, he could make out two figures waving at him and calling out his name. One was a girl and the other a boy, and despite their words being incoherent mumbles, he would never forget the sounds of those 'two'._

_"Skuld? …Ephemer…?" He croaked as he reached out for the figures before his eyelids closed and his consciousness slipped from itself._

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"Hey? Hello, are you okay? Heeeeeeeeeeello~!"_

_The sounds of a cheerful melodious grasped the attention of his drifting psyche. The memory which played itself in his head gave way to a blinding light that its job to help him resurface from the depths of his mind._

* * *

_To be forced to remember **that** memory, he wondered what pushed him to experience it._

* * *

Opening his eyes, a fair youth about 17 years old with dark skin and black spiky hair allowed his striking blue eyes to survey the surroundings around him, hoping to gain some context to where he was and what he was exactly doing.

Noticing the familiar weight in his hand, he realized that he had materialized _Fenrir_. The black, long pin tumbler shaped keyblade with its golden wolf token keychain had been a favorite of his for years especially after all of the years he put into powering it with the power of Lux.

Eyes trailing up from his trusty weapon, he spotted three of his _likely_ victims sprawled out on the ground, unconscious and unmoving while one was weakly clutching a broken broadsword.

_'That explains the reason why I have my keyblade out, but not why I did this in the first place.' He wracked his brain over it. He hated it whenever he zoned out to that awful war with no winners. Its been getting real hard to convince Chi that he's fine whenever something small would set him off especially when it dealt with conflict._

And to be honest, his brief bouts of episodes weren't as bad in comparison to the first day that he'd been in this world after some strange light engulfed him and Chi and brought them into some alley in this sprawling, huge city with an massive tower erecting itself at the center of it. That day was difficult to say the least.

While still in his armor, he was running around looking mad as he grabbed any citizen of varying race (which was a big shock for him but was overshadowed by his unexpected ejection from the war) about where he was and what part of the World he was in. His questions were met with either frightful pleas to leave them alone or aggressive threats to inform another of nearby Ganesha Familia of his disturbance of the peace.

He had assumed that was the police force of this place yet the looming threat of being arrested did not quell his raving curiosity lest mind had truly slipped from him. Luckily it took the calming reprimands of his Chirithy to settle down and finally pass out from exhaustion in the same alleyway where he started.

Thankfully, his partner was able to procure the last of their potions to ease the process of his rest while hiding his exhausted form from any of the world's inhabitants for a total of three days. So close was he on death's door that he nearly fell into darkness, but somehow, his persisted to endure and keep going.

Where was he? What pulled him to this place? Is this place a projection from the Book of Prophecies like all the other places? If not, then why did this world feel as though it was conjoined with the rest of the one World like so many others?

He needed answers and answers he will get if he can properly approach things instead of spouting nonsense like a madman.

Once healed, he deactivated his Keyblade Armor through the black blue shoulder pauldrons on his shoulder and approached the closest citizen for answers on where he exactly was. To avoid being the same mistake as last time, he asked some pleasant random woman in a hooded cloak, who for some reason looked jubilantly at him, about where he was in the world and the story behind the city.

It was a simple question though an odd one since he realized that from an outsiders perspective it was odd to ask a question that broad despite being an "inhabitant" of this world.

However, to his surprise, the woman actually looked happy to tell him as much as he'd like. He was glad but became wary as he noticed something about the off way that she was looking at him with those silver eyes of hers. It felt like she was looking at his soul…

Okay, so apparently, the city he was in was called Orario, the Labyrinth City and keeper of the dreaded Dungeon which was beneath that huge tower called the Tower of Babel to seal off the monsters that were spawning from attacking the surface.

The dungeon was a place that spawned out of nowhere and caused unimaginable havoc on the races that lived on the surface until the Gods (yep, there were actual gods in this world, which reminded him of Mount Olympus and wondered if he'd find Hercules here) came down from their world above in Heaven to the Earthly world below to bestow their Divine blessing to humans to combat the monsters. These Gods soon craft Familias and blessed their members with their powers to combat the dungeon or do something entirely different in terms of business.

Countless years later and the city was made to welcome and produce Adventurers of all walks of life to venture into the dungeon and seek out the secrets and treasures it has along with seeing what's at the end of it on the lowest floor.

That was the cliff notes of the woman's explanation, and, wow! He didn't expect to be hit with that truck load of information along with the basic know how on all of the races of this world. Plus, that's barely scratching the surface of the other countries in the world and their cultures.

So, from what he gathered, he was **definitely** not in the World since there was no mention of Daybreak Town or Keyblade Wielders. Hell, there was barely any concerning facts about the Keyblade War that was too recent to ignore. The one World must have shattered and created many individual worlds after the darkness that was the outcome of the War engulfed everything.

But…for that to have happened must have taken centuries to happen! How was it possible that he ended up on some world just as darkness was setting in on the one World? It all didn't add up at all! Did that mean he was the only Keyblade Wielder left? The Dandelions might have been sent off to another dimension, but even they still couldn't live forever.

_Skuld…Ephemer…_

He was alone.

He breathed heavily, memories of the War were starting to set in and like back then, he was back to feeling so helpless.

But a quick tug of his shorts was able to pull him back before he went to that dark place. His distress might have been evident since his Chirithy worriedly gazed at him and did their best to encourage him to keep going. That's right. He's not alone, he still has someone right here with him, and that gave him the hope to keep going and hope that there were still Keyblade Wielders like him out there.

He couldn't give up! As a Keyblade Wielder, he owed it to his fellow kin and friends to keep fighting and protect the Light no matter where he was. Not out of some obligated duty, but because he wanted to, and it would best honor his loved ones until he found all the answers that he sought.

Thankfully picking up the Chirithy, he pulled Chi into a hug and expressed his gratitude with a mumbled whisper.

During all of this, the mysterious woman that he was talking to was engrossed with watching them. It was hard to tell with that self-same beautiful smile of hers but her eyes, they were practically shining while she looked at him. Her starry gaze was comparable to looking at the birth of a new star standing in front of her.

Thinking it was best to part ways lest she asked questions about the sudden appearance of his Chirithy and question his lack of know-how of the city, he gave the woman his thanks and was on his way. Well, he was on his way, until the woman strangely broke her composure for a second by asking if he required any refuge that she'd be happy to accommodate. But just as she was quick to offer, he was just as quick to deny it as politely as he could much to her surprise, disappointment and…excitement?

Just as quickly as she made the offer to take him in did she hastily and respectfully wished him and his adorable cat spirit a good day. As she made her way out of the alley that they talked in, he visibly felt his shoulders start to unwind themselves.

He didn't want to be any more of a bother to her…is how he felt superficially, but deep down, he still was wary of her. During that entire conversation, he felt something was passively trying to _charm_ him, and were it not for the strength of his heart shielding him from the effects and already accustomed to resisting the sway of Darkness in the past, he imagined that their little interaction would have been drastically different than what occurred.

But that wasn't even the defining reason why he was cautious in the first place because as soon as their eyes met, he immediately recognized what lied beyond those silver eyes. _Desire. Lust._

And above all else, _Love._

Not the kind of mutual love a spouse would give to their other half, just pure unconditional love that one would have if they came across a pet that was their fancy. That kind of Love and that irked him. Putting two and two together, he surmised that she must have been adventurer or some God. Either way, he was given a good reminder to be cautious around this world's inhabitants.

Though her mysterious dark intentions gave him pause, he was at least thankful for her sharing this world's information no matter how general it may have been. Perhaps he might see her again and give her his thanks properly. Liking the possibility, he might have even gained the potential to make a friend or at least an ally during his stay here.

His luck must really be giving him so much good fortune.

* * *

_Little did he know that bolstering his hopes and determination with the help of his Chirithy just gave Orario's infamous resident Goddess of Love, a front row seat to the rekindled birth of an all encompassing Light that could be witnessed from any point in the city._

_It was a Light that would never dwindle, thus giving the Goddess a clear view of him on the top of Babel, no matter where he was._

_The young man's luck has dealt him an unfortunate hand…_

* * *

Since then, he's been venturing on the streets of Orario, getting acquainted with simply watching the lives of the colorful adventures from afar for a couple of days while navigating (not getting lost) the streets of the city. Much to his chagrin, Chi decided to lead the way on multiple occasions after he "intentionally" led them to a couple of dead ends or led them in complete circles.

It wasn't his fault that the "Labyrinth" in Labyrinth City made directions hard. However, his Chirithy, Chi, annoyingly doubted that the city only made his bad sense of direction worse. Their exploration had to best cut short though since a familiar ugly feeling reared its head somewhere down the line in some part of the city called Daedalus Street.

The Heartless. No matter the world, darkness will always find a way to surface itself out to consume everything. He expected to be in a place like this, but he still prayed that they wouldn't plague this world like so many others. His first bout with the abominations dealt with him protecting some beggars who were getting swarmed by an infestation of Shadows. Their numbers were great but nothing he hasn't handled before.

Sadly, that mindset would be disproven based on the fact that the damned things were appearing almost everywhere throughout the city like a true infestation that it boggled his mind. He was aware that a city this big had to hold a lot of dark secrets that could attract them, but it was getting ridiculous.

Especially in Daedalus Street, a place which frustrated him to no end since the Heartless were attracted to the depressing darkness that the Lower class living there gave off, and the hard to navigate streets that had even made his trusty and competent Chirithy confused.

Things were getting bad that he had to protect some brunette with the horns and ears of a cow from a quartet of Neo-Shadows! It was originally two Heartless, but from the accounts of that girl, the extra two were originally a pair of adventurers trying to earn their due from a debt that she owed them for helping her try to find and recommend a Familia to take her in.

"Try" is used her extremely loosely since they've been intentionally keeping her in the dark about it for a whole month with no news to ever bring back. In essence, the girl was too trusting, and they used that trust to extort all of her belongings and eventually wanted "more" from her physically. Though he felt bad that those scumbags had their Hearts stolen and forced to become Heartless themselves, he couldn't deny that they at least had it coming and felt no pity while striking their heartless forms down.

The girl was fairly nice and grateful for him saving her, but he couldn't really stick around since he had more heartless to deal with, so he gave her the two former adventurer's dropped Munny *AHEM!* Valis and went on his way before she started asking questions that he didn't really want to give answers to.

So for the passing days that followed, he was stuck between eating what was left of the food that he made for Chirithy to carry for him for when he was originally in the Projected Worlds for far too long and exterminating the heartless before they corrupted more unassuming citizens to make more.

Through all of this, he felt a familiar spine-chilling gaze keeping track of him during his Heartless hunts. It was weird because no matter where he was, the gaze was **always** on him. Eventually, he grew to ignore, but he couldn't deny that it was a bit concerning.

"Hey…hey…you okay? You've been standing there looking off into space."

Breaking out of his stupor, he looked down to see who was tugging at his sleeve to spot a beautiful young woman, who in comparison to a guy of his height (5' 11"), she was rather short. Her black hair was tied in twin ponytails with blue and white petals/bell accessories. He would have mistaken her for a little girl, who was lost but the glean in her blue eyes held little of the innocence a child would have based on his own experiences with the guiding newbie Keyblade Wielders in the Unicornis Union.

Though her stature and state of attire was another hint that she was REALLY not a kid. A white mini dress with a blue ribbon around her neck and one tied under her breasts around her arms, and a pair of white gloves. Going back to her short height, he stature was rather small too which emphasized her rather *AHEM!* big assets.

Like that cowgirl earlier, he tried and failed not to linger on the amazing sight before him and was thankful that she wasn't noticing as she continue to tug and poke at him in concern.

Hm? Was she wearing an apron? Looking between the three unconscious adventurers on the ground and back to her, he soon remembered why he was where he was. During his walk patrolling the city with Chirithy, the pair came across a peace shattering scene.

Three adventurers were breaking down and threatening a food stand that sold Jagamarukun. He had idea why they were named that instead of just calling them fried potatoes, but anyways, they were mad at the vendor selling them because they were too hot and it burned their tongues.

...

So it was obvious that he had to step in once they were quite literally about put the vendor in harms way, but as soon as one of them pulled out their sword and pointed it at the poor woman. Well, he had that episode of being back at the War.

Taking a deep breath, he composed himself and realized that the woman poking him was the vendor, so putting on warm smile, he laughed. "I'm fine, don't worry about." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and put his full attention on her. "But the one who asking that is me. Are you okay?"

He raised an eyebrow as soon as he noticed the woman's cheeks flushing a red tinge. Was there something on his face that was giving her discomfort?

"Y-Yep, I'm doing A-Okay! I mean thanks to you stepping in and…saving me…" She said evenly as she could while poking her fingers together.

"Perfect, I'm glad that I could help." The young man grinned. "Sorry that you had to go through that though." Especially over those jerks whining about burning their tongues.

Looking forlorn, the woman sighed and shook her head. "No, that's fine. Though escalated the way they did, getting unruly Adventurers to the stand is almost common to come across here at my stand." Looking back at the damaged remains of her stand, she breathed out another heavy sigh as her shoulders slumped down while softly muttering "This is going to come out of my next payment, isn't it?".

"If you want, I can help with fixing it." The young man tellingly hefted the weight of his Keyblade onto his shoulder. Though it would bring more attention onto himself based on the odd looks that he was getting from everyone else on the street, he still felt the need to at least help out her place of business. It would be easy to fix the stand up with a simple spell.

"No, no, no! You've already done more than enough, I wouldn't want to trouble you any further." The woman rapidly waved her arms at him to belay his offer with a rather worried smile. Worry that looked as though she was already knee deep in debt to afford to owe anyone giving out more favors to her. "I guess, I'll just…wait until the work day is over so I can tell my boss about what happened… Oh, thanks for the help by the way…"

Heavily sighing again, the woman dragged her bare feet (hold on, why wasn't wearing shoes) back to the side of her stand and sat on the sidewalk with her knees up to her chest. That down look still writ on her face.

Frowning, the young man rubbed at his chin in deep thought before nodding at a thought that popped up in his head. Walking up to the sidewalk where the woman sat, he took his place by her side and laid his Keyblade right on the street in front of them.

"Eh?" Broken out of her weathered daze, the woman looked to her side in surprise while the young man tilted his head to the side and grinned.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"…I…no, not at all." She blushed as she realized how close the both of them are. He wondered if he was making her uncomfortable but shook off any doubt and remained silent by her side as they watched the people of Orario move through the streets and going about their day as the sun began to set. He didn't need to worry about those 3 punks waking up to stir trouble as people wearing elephant masks came around to pick the peace disturbers up and taken in for questioning after the other vendors who were around reported what they did.

Surprisingly, the people didn't mention him being the one to take them out. He had no clue but based on the grateful stares that some of the nearby vendors were giving him when he stepped in to help and sit by the woman, he was able to figure out the reason behind their good intentions. Huh, looks like these merchants can stick together despite being business rivals sometime.

A shame that some of the adventurers that he observed didn't share that form of kinship. Not like he should talk, as soon as Lux was in greater demand, the five Unions were clawing each other's throats out just to obtain more…

Tch, he's supposed to help this girl feel better, not make himself feel unhealthily depressed.

Soon silence amidst the bustling street of business became comfortable between the pair.

It wasn't until she spoke up that the silence between them ended. "So…whose familia are you a part of?"

"…?" The young man blinked and tilted his head in confusion.

Realizing that she might have made a blunder, the woman once again waved her arms about and sputtered an apology. "S-Sorry! I know that must be personal especially since we only met just now but I'm just curious. I'd have to later thank your God or Goddess for this, so I just thought…" She trailed off scratching at her like a nervous mess.

"Don't have one."

"Huh?" The woman blankly blinked as she incredulously stared at the cheeky smile on the young man's face.

"A familia. Don't have one, never did."

"…What?" The woman croaked out then in a burst of energy slammed her palms on the sidewalk, wincing from the sudden act, but kept her gaze laser focused on him as if staring at an enigma. "WHAT!?"

"What?" The young man repeated for his own query.

"Y-You mean to tell me that y-y-you were able to…beat those Adventurers, who I assume were Level 1…without a Falna?" The woman stammered. "H-H-How?"

Ooooh…now when he really thinks about it, he really wasn't being as conspicuous as he thought. Damn him for getting caught up in one of his episodes. Was receiving a Falna really that substantial to someone's strength, and what does being a Level 1 mean? Did it mean that anyone who didn't have a Falna lose automatically around here, and could a Level 1 only lose to a Level 2 as well with no exception?

To be honest from what he remembered when he dispatched of those three punks, they went down rather easily than expected. Sure, that one who drew the sword on him might have gotten the short end of the stick when he pushed him into an episode and got hit by some of his unrestraint blows, but the other two went down just as easy too.

It's not his preferred enemy to fight, but the human opponents that he faced in the past were a bit more durable than these guys. Especially the **Five** **Masters,** their strength was exalted throughout the Unions who were all rumored to be bested by the Father of all Keyblade Wielders and the best Keyblade Wielder in history, the **Master of Masters**.

So, you can understand his confusion in determining what's sanctified as "strong" in this world after getting his ass beaten by all four of the masters and actually live to the tale.

Doing his best come up with the best reply, he winked and held a finger up to his lips. "Secret."

"Mumumumu…!" He laughed at the woman's puffed up cheeks and adorable pout. He still had to keep the World Order and couldn't just spread the news of Keyblades all willy-nilly. But apart of him felt that an exception could be made. Though it was faint since they're literally meeting for the first time, there's a string of a link beginning to form between their hearts.

He'll have to see how things play out before he could give her a straight answer.

"The best I can tell you is that I've been fighting tons of things above my weight class since I was 12." Which was technically the truth since he's been taken in by his Union after proving the strength of heart to materialize a Keyblade.

"Really, so you've been fighting monsters for that long…?" He nodded at her question. "And without a Falna?" He detected a hint of disbelief in her tone but paid it no mind and replied with a yes. If what he did and said shattered the expected norm then he can't judge her for not fully believing him.

"Okay, I believe you." She nodded.

"Huh?" Really, just like that?

"Yup. I can tell you're not lying." She nodded again.

Its not like his goal was to deceive her but he at least expected her to naturally be put off from his words. How was she able to-?

"Huhuhu!" Impishly laughing into her hand, the woman relished his befuddled expression. "Looks like someone's interested~! If you're new to the city and you're not an adventure," Well, not one by your world's standards, the young man thought to himself but continued to listen. "then you certainly must be left in the dark about a couple of things."

"Things like what?" He raised an eyebrow quite curious to see where she's leading.

"Things like…Ah!" She mockingly gasped and raised a finger to her lips before winking at him. A sly attempt at using his words against him. "Secret~!" He would have found this display funny if it weren't a bit annoying to have his schtick thrown right back at him.

"…" Thinking back on his chat with that cloaked woman and his experience with her, he was left two options on who she was, either an adventurer who can use magic (like a lie detector spell or something) or she was…

Slowly pointing at her, he coughed and blankly looked at still giggling woman. "You're a goddess, aren't you?"

"GEH!"

Hah, he was right on the first guess too, man, his luck was really something since he came here.

"So, Goddesses and Gods can tell when a mortal is telling a truth or lie, right? That's extremely useful." And troublesome as all hell! He panicked as he remembers the cloaked lady again. She might not have asked questions since she mostly observed him, but he was sure that if she did, then she'd have seen through his whole "New Adventurer" guise in a heartbeat.

He could only hope that he didn't run into a goddess back then.

Limply letting her head fall, the woman muttered. "Y-Yup, you got it right…I'm a goddess…"

"A goddess that's working a Fried Potato Stand." He asked.

"Yes, a goddess that's working a Jagomarukun Stand." She confirmed.

He wasn't going to call it that. "So…are you the patron deity for all things fried and potatoey?" He laughed playfully devoid of any mocking snark.

"Ugh…no." The woman shook her head and took a deep breath, letting her shoulders sag down as she looked up to the stars. "I'm the Goddess of hearth, home, and hospitality."

He smiled. "Sounds like a nice set of things to preside over."

She nodded albeit slowly with a tired sigh that was outright depressing. "In heaven, yes; down here after descending into the world of man, no. I can't really provide much of home or hospitality to someone if there's literally no one give it to, y'know."

He frowned. "Ah, so I take that you don't have a Familia then." He said it as more a statement than a question. And if the subdued look in her downtrodden smiling face was an indicator, then there was no further reason to question it lest he damage her self-esteem.

"So, I take it that this job isn't just to pay the bills, right?" the young man quietly asked.

"That's only a third of the reason why I'm working. I'm also saving up the money that I'm making to pay off a debt to a friend of mine. Sadly, that won't be for a loooooooong time at this rate…might even have to think of getting another part-time job…" The woman sighed again, honestly; he saw that each sigh visibly sucked the life out of her. "The other part is well…pretty much a dud of a reason so far." She stopped, visibly too deflated to keep going. Placing a hand to her shoulder, she looked to him tiredly, but a disarming smile gave her a slight pause.

Nodding his head, he urged her to go on and she did.

With a heavy heart, she scratched her head in deep thought and breathed out, "The original purpose of this gig was to scout people to join my familia. So far my track record has been 49 failed attempts and counting…" A rather depressing mindset to have but considering the amount of rejections and the fact that was recently assaulted by some adventurers, he couldn't blame her.

"Its next to impossible for any new goddess to have immediately gain any Children especially here in Orario. If you're not a big name Familia that can guarantee fame or riches for joining then your pretty much out of luck." She said despondently. "When I came down to the lower world, I didn't really much care for any of the glory, excitement, or games that the other Gods and Goddesses came down here for. Honestly, I just wanted to experience the "family" aspect of a familia, to be close to those you love, through the good and the bad. Watching humans devote themselves to each other, picking themselves up each time they fall, and overcoming the challenges that life or the dungeon throws at them. Watching them from my temple, I wanted to know how it felt to have that kind of love…"

"…I see…" The young man grunted, picked himself up along with his keyblade and began to walk off.

…

Breathing a shaky sigh, the goddess didn't mind the quiet, neutral response given and remained in place on the sidewalk. She figured that he was bored from her talking his ear off with all of her depressing gibbering. However, it seemed that she was at least thankful for the company as the sun was already close to fully setting already. But before she could fully get lost in her thoughts, the loud sound of knuckles wrapping against wood caught her attention.

"Hello~! I'd like one Jagomara-Jahomuru…Fried Potato please…" Like a fool, the young man sputtered over the name of the stand's snack but kept that light smile of his.

"…Okay." Slightly surprised, the Goddess got up from her spot on the sidewalk. It looked like she honestly thought he would just leave after hearing such a heartfelt desire. Heh, boy was she in for a surprise.

Let him reiterate that.

Boy was she _still_ in for a great surprise.

As shambled over to the ruined Stand, she tried as best as she could to produce a fried potato for him with a bit of mindfulness not to make it "too" hot even though she knew that he wouldn't flip out over something like that. As she handed him the finished snack, he immediately reached back into his pocket to grasp the mun-dammit-he meant valis that he took from the two former asshole adventurers assaulting that cow girl to give to her.

But a raised hand to his face ceased his efforts.

"Consider it on the house for helping out back there. Thanks." The Goddess bowed but flinched when she heard the sound of money hitting the stand's table. Eyes wide, she trailed them up to look in the young man's kind blue eyes.

"Well, consider this as thanks for letting me talk to you." He grinned as he received a smile from her as thanks but remained in the place. Hehe, he could tell that this was going to be worth it based on the perplexed expression on her face.

"D-Do you still want more because I think I could probably give you another one for free since you paid for the first one." He shook his head at that. "Then do you not like the Jagamarukun that I gave to you?" He shook his head again making the short Goddess a little nervous. "O-Oh, did you change your mind and want me to give you back your valis?"

"Nope." He tittered.

"Then-Then why are you-?"

"Aren't I Mr. Number 50?" He grinned and pointed to himself, relishing the gape her mouth and eyes once he made that declaration. Good, he wanted to make his intentions as clear as possible.

"Y-You want to…?" Her breath was shaky, and her lips trembled.

"Want me to what? I don't really count as Number 50 if you don't ask me." The young man scratched his head and laughed. If there was any doubt that he had when they talked each other's ears off, it'd be pretty hard to detect it anywhere in his posture, tone of voice and eyes. Now, he still wasn't fully sure about this whole situation yet, that was going to take some getting used to along with acclimating to Orario and the world itself.

But he at least felt that he could trust the Goddess in front of him with his secrets and in turn be comfortable enough with her in his company. While they talked, the link between them grew strong enough for him to feel out the emotions that she felt while recounting her days in Orario to him and her desires. The weight on his heart was heavy and clouded with doubt and sadness, but what really had him sympathize with her was that dreaded feeling that's followed him ever since he ended up in this place.

Loneliness.

That feeling where you're the only one in this world that you got. Thankfully, he has Chi to be there for him, but the loneliness he felt was more akin to loss than simply being alone.

To see the Goddess actually suffer through this and stating such a genuine desire to form a Familia for the sake of love, well, what kind of Keyblade Wielder, no, what kind of _person_ would he be if he couldn't at least fulfill the dream of a woman suffering right in front of him!

"W-Well, I-!" The Goddess coughed in her hand trying her best to be as dignified as possible in order to ask him that important request. "If you desire, would you-?"

"Yes."

"…!"

The immediate response took the Goddess off guard and the smile that the young man sported didn't do her any favors as her heart seemed to have skipped a beat.

"If you're okay with a worn guy like me to be a part of your familia, then I'll gladly say yes a million times." He reached his hand out and playfully winked. "I'll be in your care, but I guess that also means that you're also in my care as well. So, let's all three of us do our best to depend on each other, my Goddess." No sooner did those words come out his lips did he notice the fresh pools of tears flowing down the woman's cheeks along with those same cheeks being flushed. The amount of warmth that he sensed from her heart was well…heartwarming.

…Yeah, bad time for a pun. Especially since his cringing dulled his instinct to prepare himself as his new Goddess shot herself from across the battered stand's counter and into his midriff. On his back looking dazed, he tried his best to regain his bearings while listening to the messy sobs of the woman burying her head into his chest.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Crying would be more tamed, in essence she wailing like a dying cat. Yet this didn't deter him from doing his best to comfort her with a rub to her back and pat on her head.

"No thanks necessary, my Goddess…uh…what's your name?" He awkwardly sucked in his lips. Crap, he forgot to introduce himself throughout this entire exchange of words and emotions.

"*SNORT!* R-Right, I haven't told-!" Recognizing where she laid, the Goddess immediately jumped to her feet with a yelp and a tomato red face. The young man found this odd but decided to roll with it as he too stood up. Coughing into her fist, his new Goddess recomposed herself once more and with what seemed to be the grace of a divine being placed her hands on her hips and proudly thrusted her impressive chest out, which gave him a nice sight to behold _indeed._

"My Child, allow me to introduce myself, I am the Goddess, Hestia."

Chuckling to himself, the young man stuck his hand out and grinned. "Nice to meet ya, Hestia! Its going to be a pleasure being by your side from here on out! The name's Michael and let's do our best!"

"Right!"

With a hearty clap of their hands tightening into a mutual handshake, the pair happily smiled the whole night away with the comforting knowledge that neither of them had to be alone ever again. While the boy joyously laughed, his Goddess shyly smiled at him while intentionally failing to suppress the heat in her cheeks and the growing swell in her heart.

From afar, watching them from an alley a block away from the Jagamarukun stand, a brunette cows woman about the age of 17 watched on while remaining hidden from the person that she'd been following for days.

* * *

_It was on this day that the Hestia Familia was finally formed and from its birth a dazzling new light had blessed the dangerous city of Orario with a new hope. This same light would then go on to attract and brighten the souls of many, who carry with them a strong heart and will to protect what's most important to them._

_The lost wolf has found his home and now intends to defend it with everything that he has. Soon enough this wolf will be bolster attention of allies and enemies alike, which would threaten the safety of his new home._

_Fortunately, soon in the future, this blue-eyed wolf would take in a red-eyed hare as his pupil and turn the very foundations of this bustling city of adventurers on its head._

_…Not to mention, he would soon be the one to ensure that his Goddess's title as a "Virgin Goddess" would be a false moniker for none to ever tease her for, for years to come…_

* * *

"Eh? Wait, Michael, just a while ago, you just said 'three' of us. Why's that? Do you have someone else who wishes to join my Familia with you?" Hestia asked with a mixture of confusion and elation at the prospect of getting another Familia member.

"Oh, that's right! I haven't introduced them yet!" Whistling with two fingers to his mouth, Michael called out, "Yo, Chiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

***PFOOOOOOOM!***

"You know that you don't have to call my name that loudly…" Through the pink smoke that popped up out of thin air, Hestia heard a snarky yet soft voice.

"Well, I thought you were busy elsewhere. Plus, I wanted to be sure that you could hear me." Michael wryly laughed and scratched his head.

"I've been here the whole time, Michael. I just wanted to give you some privacy with our new friend." The voice groaned.

"Well, there's no need for you to hide anymore because…"

With the smoke clearing, Hestia finished waving it all off before her eyes landed on the new appearance beside her new Child. She froze. Every fiber of her being was crying out at the sight of the absolutely adorable anthropomorphic cat creature in front of her. Their fur was a soothing shade of gray with black stripes, their eyes were cutely blue, they had on their shoulders a flowing gold and blue cape and laying on their fluffy tum-tum and wrapped around his neck was a pink coin purse bearing a weird sigil.

"Greetings, Goddess Hestia. I am a Chirithy, but my given name by my designated Keyblade Wielder is Chi, it is a pleasure to meet y-!"

To say that Hestia was overloaded with cuteness was an understatement. Like many others taken by the allure of the adorable creature, the Goddess picked them up and squeezed them into a loveable hug.

"You...are…so…CUUUUUUUUUUTE~!"

"Gah! Uncle! Uncle! Please your crushing me…help!" Chi gasped.

"Um, my Goddess, I think you should let up a bit…" Michael sweatdropped at the sight of his old pal turning blue from Hestia's snake like hug.

"B-B-But…cuteness!" Hestia whimpered.

"C-Can't br-br-breaaaathe!" Chi wailed as unconsciousness was soon to claim them.

* * *

_Ah, also let it be known on this day that the Hestia Familia's marketing goldmine of a mascot, Chi was born…_


	2. A Rabbit's dive to the heart

Where was he?

The dreary thought of a waking boy echoed throughout the black void that surrounded him. He had no idea how he ended up floating in this unknown space. Everything was rushing past him, at least, he felt it was. He couldn't describe the feeling, his body felt as though it was rising yet falling all at the same time.

To be frank, he felt completely disoriented. However, despite his odd current circumstance, an unusual wave of peace swaddled him. Like, he could actually trust the rise or _dive_ that he was taking to whoever knows where. Trying to recollect on how he even got there sent a sharp ache to prod at the back of his head.

As though something was warning him that questioning too much would rip away this odd sense of serenity, so he decided to just go along with it.

Eyelids twitching, he began to feel a white light splash against his delicate features. Wherever it was coming from, it was too bright, so bright that it was affecting him with eyes closed. The intensity of this light only persisted until he found no other option than to peek his curious red eyes open to weather the glaring luminescence, but the pain from it no longer lingered.

No, in fact, above or below him (it was really hard to say which was way was what) was a mysterious pillared and circular platform that stretched down into the abyss below with no way of actually seeing its foundation.

But that wasn't the weirdest part though, the surface of it looked to be composed of stained red and orange glass encompassing the visage of a rather majestic Unicorn. The boy had heard tales of such creatures from his grandfather. Holy beasts, who are only let themselves be known to only the "purest" of maidens.

When he had asked his grandfather what the stories meant when referring to the maidens as being pure, he was swiftly told the same old line whenever his Grandpa didn't want to explain things. "You'll figure it out once you're older" he would say. Even to this day, he was annoyed behind the dismissal for being too young to notice.

That aside, he was a bit put off by the intimidating eyes that crested the Unicorn's regal face. It exuded a feeling utter wrath.

Realizing that he actually was rising/falling towards the platform, he panicked, flailing his arms and legs around as an attempt to right his posture lest he takes a nasty crash on the glassy surface. Thankfully, some invisible force caught just a few feet from faceplanting as his brown boots clacked against the colorful glass flooring beneath him.

Getting a much closer look at it the image on the platform, he felt himself slightly shying away while under the Unicorn's wrathful gaze. It was just hard _not_ to be intimidated by something like that. Distracting himself from it, he looked around and confirmed that there was nothing other than himself and this platform amidst this empty black abyss around him.

He felt concerned and frowned. Just what was exactly was he brought here to do, he thought.

_Finally…_

The boy jumped in a fright at the sudden voice echoing through the void.

_The path has shown itself…_

_Yet the door stills remains shut…_

He couldn't tell who was speaking but…it sounded like a boy. No matter where he looked, he couldn't find an exact source for where it came from. It was quite jarring to him.

_Don't be afraid…_

_Take your time, one step at a time, and determine what to bring with you on your journey…_

The voice was speaking to him? And what did it mean by bringing something with him, he thought.

As though answering his inquiry, arising from portals of light on the glassy platform were three stone podiums. His eyes widened as each podium held an item mystically floating over them.

_Power sleeps within you._

A sword.

_If you give it form…_

A shield.

_It will give you strength._

And a staff.

Each one radiated a sense of power that someone like him couldn't even begin to fathom, yet they called to him.

_Choose well._

…Welp, that couldn't have been anymore straightforward. Rubbed his chin as he approached the three podiums with him standing in the middle of it all. The first thing that caught his attention was the sword. Call him a dork all you want, but he personally fantasized about the many fabled heroes being graced with blessed weapons that could level mountains and fell the mightiest of beasts.

Frowning a bit at the weird mouse shaped insignia on the jewel embedded in the Sword's hilt, he still gladly took up the blade in hand and excitedly admired the reflection of face on it.

_The power of the warrior.  
Invincible Courage.  
A sword of terrible destruction._

_Is this the power you seek?_

Surprised by the voice once again, the boy found himself faltering at the words spoken. "Terrible destruction"? If he were to choose this, then would he begin to wrought unimaginable terrors upon everyone? It would be the antithesis that he wanted to pursue while trying to achieve his dream of being a hero, who'll save a fair damsel in trouble.

Contemplating the spoken words a little longer, he came upon a good enough reasoning to take up the sword. Though it did mention the "power of the warrior" and "invincible courage", his main focus was on the 'terrible destruction" part. Despite the sword possessing the power to bring destruction, it didn't necessarily mean it was bad or evil.

It just meant that in the hands of whosoever wielded it, it held the potential for destruction. The only thing that would make it a weapon of evil would be if he were to use it for any nefarious and cruel reasons. Shaking any doubt from his mind, he steeled himself as an assurance that he won't go down the wrong path.

_Is this the power you seek?_

The voice repeated again with the same questioning tone.

Yes.

With a resolute nod to the head, he gave his affirmation.

In a burst of light, the sword vanished much to his disappointment, but he kept his wits about himself as the voice continued to speak.

_Your path is set._

_Now, what will you give up in exchange?_

What?

Looking back to the other podiums, the boy immediately grasped what it meant and bit the nail on his thumb as agonized over which of the two items to sacrifice. He assumed that whatever was left would still be kept with him, but the one to go was a hard choice.

First the shield…

_The power of the guardian.  
Kindness to aid friends.  
A shield to repel all._

_You give up this power?_

The power to protect his friends…

Though it was something that emphasized his greatest want, he still felt as though being too hasty to give it up wasn't the way to go. So, he decided to see what the mouse shaped staff had to offer.

_The power of the mystic.  
Inner strength.  
A staff of wonder and ruin._

_You give up this power?_

Judging based on the fact that it was a staff, he put it together that it signified magic, freaking MAGIC! He'd always dream of using the arcane powers that many of his stories wonderfully spoke in prose. There was no way he was giving it up!

This did leave him with losing the power of the Guardian to protect his friends…

…But he already made the distinction that based on how he wielded the sword, he could be able to make an offense a solid defense to protect those closest to him. With his mind made up, he made his decision.

In a burst of light, the Shield vanished.

_You've chosen the power of the Warrior.  
You've given up the power of the Guardian._

_Is this the form you choose?_

Yes.

_Are you sure?_

Taking a deep breath, the boy looked deep inside himself for any doubt and came out with the same answer.

Yes.

***Ruuuuuuuuuuuumble~!***

Stepping about the place in an effort to keep his footing, the podiums sunk into the stained glass as a heavy magnitude hit the platform before it shattered beneath him and sent him falling through the abyss again.

Yet before his screams could leave his lips, he soon found himself falling towards another platform with blue stained-glass depicting grisliness of a bear. Landing smoothly on it, he tried and failed to compose himself from sudden fright of the seemingly endless fall. This fright only escalated when the sword from earlier materialized in his hand.

_You have gained the power to fight._

More engrossed with the blade than his quick scare, he tested the weight of it and was visibly surprised by how light it was compared to the knife that he normally used. Testing a swing, he felt a powerful gust of wing pick up from it and grinned with excitement at the sheer power that the weapon exhibited.

_There will be times you have to fight._

Soon enough this moment of elation was replaced by curiosity, which in turn was replaced by confusion and finally dread at the arrival of three squirming _monsters of **darkness**._

It was **them!**

The creatures slowly approached him with their gold lifeless eyes staring right at him as if fixated on the soul that they would no doubt try to consume.

Gripping tight on the blue haft of the sword, the boy narrowed his eyes and steeled himself to face the crawling threats coming right at him.

_Keep your light burning strong._

Too wound up to even pay attention to the voice, he made the first move on the closest monster and swung his blade down on its faceless head. It connected, and even made it recoil! With that opening given to him, he didn't waste any time plunging the blade through its chest. In a burst of black wispy strands, the creature vanished.

Looking about, he spotted the next one baring its claws and leaping right at him to dig them into his chest. Gritting his teeth, the both quickly does a complete on his heel to dodge the attack and gripped both hands on the sword's hilt. The blade was pushed into a circle arc of a swing that beheaded the creature, which was still in motion in the middle of its own attack.

Taking a deep breath of relief, the boy calmed himself down and felt a bit of satisfaction from dispatching of the enemy. However, he noticed that something was off. He looked to be all alone but weren't there supposed to be three of th-?

_Behind you!_

"…!"

Too late to react, the boy screamed in pain as three claws dug into his back. The chilling feeling which followed frightened him as he felt as though his soul, no, his very being was being damaged from that blow. With a panicked swing of his blade back behind him, all that he managed to hit was nothing but the air.

Wh-What where did it go, he thought, looking around for any clues of his hidden foe. He wouldn't not find above or next to him, which meant that it must have been right under his nose…literally.

And lo and behold, he found the sneaky monster crawling against the ground completely flat. Raising his sword in the arm, he brought it down to smite the creature but to no avail the attack did it no damage. Perhaps, it was untouchable like that?

That guess was soon put to the test as the creature immediately pounced out of its safety spot on the ground and prepared to lunge its claws into the boy once more. Unfortunately for it, it was now airborne and made itself an easy target for him.

One powerful thrust tearing through its gut and the creature was felled.

The adrenaline pumping through began to ebb away, leaving him to finally wince at the sting of the wounds on his back. Yet, he couldn't linger on dampening the pain since whatever force was guiding this place deemed it necessary to materialize a grand doorway at the center of the platform.

_Onwards…_

Taking heed of the voice, he once more felt compelled to comply with its comforting insistence. Pulling the two door handles, he struggled to pull them open at first before using all of his might to finally drag them out. Cracks of light peeked through the edges of it and soon a wave of light burst through when the doorway was finally opened.

Blinded, he covered his face and averted his gaze from the whiteness. Sensing the burning brightness die down, he opened his eyes, which only widened at the scenery around him. He was standing in what looked like the central plaza to a city, but it wasn't the current Labyrinth City that he was recently acquainted with.

No, the town lacked the hard to miss tower of Babel and its streets were empty. The only distinguishing features around him was the grand water found before him and the towering clock tower in the distance. As he looked to the sky a comforting feeling washed over him as the morning sun rose up into the sky.

The sight of such a _daybreak_ filled his chest with a heavy feeling of nostalgia…and sadness?

But before he could wrap his head around this feeling, all of his thoughts were cast aside once he noticed that someone stood right in front of him. No, it wasn't the fact that someone was there, it mainly dealt with _who_ stood in front of him.

G-Grandpa…?

His eyes beginning to spill an unsurmountable flood of tears, the boy dragged his feet with unsure steps towards the old man, who's been the most important role model in his youth. That beard, those kind eyes that held within them the glint of mischief and perverseness, and most of all, his smile. It was him.

It was actually him!

His feet moved fasted than he could process as he tackled the man, who he thought to be dead into a loving hug. He cried into his broad chest as memories of doing so in the past flooded his mind. A rush of questions flooded out of him to the man.

What happened to him? Where did he go? What killed him?

He so desperately wanted answers, but none were given to him. His grandfather still stood in place, barely reacting to him. Worried, he pleaded for him to talk to him, but still left with the chilling silence. Only the solemn words of the voice from earlier broke him from the cavalcade emotions hitting him.

_The door has yet to fully open yet._

_First, tell me more about yourself._

And after those enigmatic words were said, for the first time, his grandfather spoke.

_"What are you so afraid of?"_

Stunned in silence, the boy sadly looked down with a smile. Despite looking and sounding like his grandfather, the overall warmth that he remembered from the old man in his memories were nowhere to be found with the man in front of him.

This wasn't his grandfather…

Wiping away at his eyes, he took a deep breath and thought about how he should answer the question to advance. What made him afraid the most? He could say death would be the most frightening thing, but such a fear was natural and too obvious an answer, he thought. Being alone? No, he didn't have to worry about a fear like that anymore.

Thinking harder, he soon came upon an answer that he felt more than articulated what he really feared.

"I'm afraid of being…indecisive. To not be able to contribute anything or save someone. If I delay myself by always being doubtful or getting worked up about not always picking the best move in a situation, I'm forced to face with the undeniable fact that I'm…weak…" To speak out such words hurt him, but being in the presence of his grandfather (or what looked like him) helped eased him to lay his feelings out to bare.

_"Failure? Is failure something to really be afraid over…?"_ His "Grandfather" quietly mulled over before vanishing right in front of him.

A little shocked, the boy was starting to get used to odd nature of wherever he was because who appeared next helped settled his nerves.

Sitting on the edge of the fountain, kicking their bare feet out playfully was a familiar short statured woman with black twin-tails, motherly blue eyes, and a welcoming smile that always made him feel right at home. He returned the smile, uncaring if the "woman" acknowledged it. No matter where he was, he'd never deny his gratitude for her for bringing him into her _family._

Walking over to her, he sat down beside her and awaited the next question.

_"What do you want out of your life?"_

"To be strong."

He spoke with no hesitation.

It might been him beating a dead horse at this point, but he desperately yearned to be like the heroes in legend like exalted Argonaut and his family's captain! He recognized that without strength, he couldn't hope to ever bring same hope and excitement to others; most of all without power, how was he supposed to earn the heart of a maiden in the dungeon?

_"To be strong, huh?"_

Giving her own contemplative response, the "woman" vanished.

Taking a deep breath, the boy sat up and looked around, wondering if there were any more questions or if he was done. Looking back and forth, he found no one else besides himself in the empty town square. Well, he believed that to be the case after looking back and forth thrice before noticing the sudden appearance of a boy standing a few feet away from him with their back turned to him.

Looking closely, he deemed the boy to look quite young, younger than him by like two years if he were to guess. At the back of his head, he was experiencing a sense of Déjà vu. Which was weird since, he's technically never met the boy but something in his heart kept telling him that thought begged to differ.

_"What's most important to you?"_ The younger boy spoke.

"…!"

That voice…

No, it had to be a coincidence there's no way that…

Coughing, the elder boy gave his answer.

"My Family."

Like before, he held no doubt in his answer. After experiencing so much loneliness from grandfather and the rejection to join so many other familias, the family that did choose him gave everything that he asked for and more. Without them, he wouldn't be nearly as happy as he was now. Which made him all the more motivated to do everything that he can to pay them back for allowing some insignificant farm boy to be a part of their lives.

_"Is family really such a big deal?"_

_…_

_"I suppose it is, huh?"_

Giving his response, the younger boy turned around and shot the elder boy a grin. The elder boy almost fell out of his seat as his red eyes widened when given a better look at who stood before him. Dark skin; black, spiky hair and blue pools for eyes that brimmed with confidence. It can't be possible, right? There's no way that the kid standing before him was actually…

Eclipsing his thoughts, the morning sky only brightened as the rising sun's light intensified and blinded the boy from the young-looking apparition of someone very important to him. Though he could no longer see the younger boy, he could still hear his voice booming around him.

_"Your adventure begins at midday. Keep a steady pace and you'll come through fine."_

_The day you will open the door is both so close and very near…_

The light consumed him once more, and the boy found himself back in the black void once more, yet this time he stood in the center a platform depicting the visage of a serene yellow fox. Sadly, such serenity didn't extend to the infestation of black monsters rising up from the ground and eying as their eventual prey.

There was ten of them in total.

Calling for the sword that he had chosen without even questioning how he knew to do it, he charged in headlong to face the creatures. The battle was difficult to say the least. The creatures may have lacked a conscience, but their sheer numbers and tactfulness put him on edge. They wouldn't give him any time to breathe.

Thankfully, he used their single-mindedness to destroy against them as he was quick on his feet to dodge just in the nick of time while they're amid their attack to bump into each other. This tactic worked wonders as he duped the creatures and made light work of dispatching them.

However, they were but the first of many as a colorful stained-glass path kept urging him onward to different platforms depicting other images the like resembling a jaguar and a snake. And on each passing platform, more of those dark creatures lied in wait to ambush him. Not leaving one to stand in his path, his blade tore each creature asunder. Though this was not without injury since there was always one of the sly devils out of the bunch that crawled about on the ground to later pop up and strike him with his guard down.

Raggedly breathing, he finally made it to the last platform, well, the last platform without a leading path to take. Looking around, he found that there were no more creatures to let taste the cool steel of his blade. This gave him apt time to catch his breath and admire the stained-glass art of the flooring. All the creatures that were depicted earlier were encircled around a beautiful heart shaped sigil with countless stars encompassing the whole of the design.

You know throughout this sudden venture in this weird place, he began to really question what these animals symbolize and why they were so important.

_Beware…_

The voice of the boy echoed, and his shoulders tensed up. Unlike the soft, urging voice that had been accompanying him, the tone it now held was grim and foreboding.

_The closer you get to the light,_

Steeling himself, he prepared for any challenge that was going to be thrown his way…

…

…Hold on, what was happening to his shadow?

_…the greater your shadow becomes…_

W-Was this for real?

The boy staggered back as a towering…w-whatever it was loomed over his diminutive form.

_…But don't be afraid._

He was doing his best not to.

_And don't forget…_

The voice trailed off, not leaving the boy much to go off of as his legs trembled at the sight of the massive monstrosity that stood above him. Looking right through with the selfsame yellow lifeless eyes. Apart from its size and intimidating height, the most disturbing thing about its appearance was the gaping heart shaped hole in its center.

Big…it was too big. He's never fought against anything like this before. The creatures up until now paled in comparison. Should he fight it? No, he had to run! But where!? There was no path to take him away! Even if he could flee, wouldn't it chase him? How could be possibly outrun THAT!

There was just no way that he could-!

_"I'm afraid of being…indecisive. To not be able to contribute anything or save someone. If I delay myself by always be doubtful or getting worked up about not always picking the best move in a situation, I'm forced to face with the undeniable fact that I'm…weak…"_

The words of his first answer resonated through the void.

_Don't forget…_

The voice reassuringly spoke.

How pathetic…

His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword.

Here he was facing an actual trial and all he could worry about was how to flee. How could he be strong if he can't face what's right in front him? How could he ever hope to be a hero if he'll let fear control when the overwhelming odds were stacked against him.

How could ever hope to protect his family and his future love if he couldn't find the strength within him to hold his ground!?

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Letting out a roar that permeated the abyss around him with his sheer rage and determination, the boy charged at the dark titan in front of him like an unhinged beast pushed back into a corner!

_That's right…never forget…_

His blade cleaved into the thick arms of the monster only to receive a massive fist slam him down into surprisingly durable glass floor beneath him. His breath was stolen from him by the amount of strength put behind the blow!

But he got up.

_"To be strong_."

He wailed in pain as the heart shaped crater in the monster's chest released torrents of dark flames that nearly engulfed him.

But he got up.

_Never forget that you…_

Slamming its fist into the ground, the unholy creature created ripples of dark portals to summon the familiar small creatures that he's been fighting up until now. Their numbers overwhelmed him faster than his sword could cut them down. One of the damned things almost clawed his eyes out as they dogpiled him.

But still…

He got up.

He couldn't falter. He wasn't allowed to because giving up would spit on the honor of those who placed their trust and hopes in him…

He had to keep pushing…fighting…!

For…for…

_"My Family." /_ "My Family."

With one more push, he lunged himself into the air at his enemy. The monstrosity reeled its massive arm back and launched it at the small boy's bloodied and beaten form. The sheer force behind the fatal blow picked up strong winds that blew his white hair, but with passion of an undying flame lit in red eyes, he didn't back down.

Swinging his blade over his head, he used everything that he had. Every muscle contributed to this single swing that was meant to rend this monster from existence for its sin.

The sin for standing in **his** way!

…

…

…

…

***THUUUUUUUUUUUUUUD!***

_Never forget that you…_

***GIIIIIIIN!***

_That you hold the hold the mightiest weapon of all…_

The rumbling of a mighty foe falling and the sound of a blade embedding itself in thick glass could be heard for miles within the void. Along with incessant panting of a boy laid out on his back opposite to the disintegrating form of the mangled titan of a monster before him.

His eyes grew weary as everything was going dark. Something was pulling him down in a veil of darkness, unfortunately, he was too tired to even attempt to get back up.

_So, please, never ever forget._

But still…it didn't deter him from at least pushing himself to raise his hand to latch onto something, but the darkness was already so close to taking him that he couldn't see much of anything anymore.

_[You are the one who will open the door.]_

***CLAP!***

"H-Huh?"

Something or someone grabbed his hand.

But who?

_"C'mon, it'd be pretty rude to keep them waiting forever again!"_

"W-Who are…?"

Whatever it was, it brought forth an overwhelming blanket of light that filled the very abyss itself. Now instead of being engulfed in darkness, he was now blinded and swaddled in light.

Feeling mind begin to wake, all that he could make out through the bright light was a black silhouette standing before him.

Beyond that he couldn't make heads nor tails of what they really looked like.

Wait a minute, hold on…

Yeah.

He could make out something…

They were wearing…

A red scarf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! That chapter's done!
> 
> I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter because I put a lot of backtracking and research with the first Kingdom Hearts game to be as accurate as I could. I know the Experience answers don't match up to the Game Guide results, but I incorporated my own answers, and the person judging them evaluated as so anyways.
> 
> Now the whole EXP thing along with the choices pertaining to the Sword, Shield, Staff will affect the chara-forget it we all know its Bell. Okay, Bell's choices here will affect his growth in story. By choosing and giving up something, he'll excel at some aspects of his stats much faster than others while falling short on what he had to give up.
> 
> Now a lot of cryptic crud happened throughout this whole thing all thanks to foreshadowing rearing its ugly yet alluring head. For those who already got the hint, good for you, you're as knowledgeable about Mobile game than any casual KH player. For those who aren't then relax because I'll be sure to steadily introduce to you who or what it is, I'm referring to and their…I want to say connection…with Bell.
> 
> Now, lets move on with waking world of the story just two years from the Prologue, and acquainted with the colorful characters of the Hestia Familia!
> 
> P.S.- As for Bell's Keyblade, well, that's still on the fence, but if the idea that I have for it works out then you guys will probably be stoked to spot this old relic of Walt Disney history in this story be referenced.
> 
> Well, that's all I have to say! Stay safe and healthy out there everyone!
> 
> I'm Out so Peace Out and have a lovely day!


	3. Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia (1)

**Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia (1)**

* * *

Was it possible for someone to have a proper full night's rest yet wake up so exhausted the next morning that you wanna pass out?

Because for Bell Cranel that contradiction was definitely being a possibility. Tossing and turning in bed, he pulled the sheets much closer to his body to gather more warmth. Perhaps a bit more rest would do just the thing to remedy his tired mind.

Sadly, the dreaded sounds of knuckles knocking against his door would delay his attempt to keep resting. "Bell-kun, its time to wake up~!" A soft voice melodiously sang as the knocking continued. Too tired, the boy only grumbled a response so garbled that it was beyond anything a coherent sentient being could translate.

"Well, if you're not going to say anything then I suppose you won't mind me coming in." A sly giggle followed by the door opening reached his ears, but he simply faced away from the source of the noise. He just wanted sleep! A few more minutes was all he wanted.

"It's too dark in here so let's fill this room," He heard footsteps approach the…oh no, "with light!"

He hissed as beams of accursed sunlight batted against his face. A countermeasure needed otherwise he'd have to surrender himself to the waking world! Pulling the seats over his head, he found himself able to lessen the glaring rays of the morning sun. Counter successful!

"Bell-kun?"

…

"Bell-kun~?"

…

"Beeeeeeeeeeell-kun~!?"

Why must he be put through this torture? He just wanted some sleep.

"Rise and shine…" He flinched, the voice spoke in a whisper so close to his ear, but he didn't give in. He just had to hang in there and maybe sweet slumber would take him away to his dream damsel that needed saving in a dungeon.

"Come on, Bell-kun. That's no good. Good little adventurers make sure to wake up on time and take baths like good boys and girls. Don't you want to be a good adventurer, Bell-kun?" His response was an exaggerated swing of his arm to shoo her away.

Later. Sleep. Now.

"Well, that's too bad." For some reason he imagined a pair of pink lips crook up into a mischievous smile and that scared him. "You're too tired to wake up and get cleaned for the day? Hmm?" He did not like where this was going. "Then no worries, I'll help you kill two birds with one stone and bring the bath to you!"

H-Hold on-!

**"Water!"**

***SPLOOOOOOOOSH!***

But before he could protest a torrent of water from above drenched him in the cold brine from top to bottom. Flailing about on his now wet mattress, he could officially say that he was up. He still felt exhausted but right now it took second place to his shivering and soaked body.

"Good Morning, Bell-kun~!"

Hugging himself through his cold, wet black shirt and black shorts, he casts the destroyer of his slumber a weary gaze that soon melted as it always did as soon as he got a good look at _her_.

Standing by his bedside was a gentle beauty of a woman, who's sly smile could never mask the unwavering kindness in her radiant green eyes. Her long brown hair was bound in a high ponytail with a white chef's bandana just barely reaching her horns and bovine ears, but still able to cover her forehead and pushing up her bangs. To be awakened by such a pretty woman was unquestionably pleasant for Bell but it still did leave him feeling embarrassed considering how…*AHEM!* womanly she was. Both her and his goddess.

Her garb did little to hide how "gifted" she was. In fact, her white blouse and black pants were rather form fitting for her figure. Draped over her front was a white apron donning the image of two bells and a blue ribbon typing them together with the two words 'Hearth Café" separately emblazoned above and below it.

"G-G-G'morning, Be-Be-Bennett-sa-sa-san…" His teeth chattered as he gave a good morning to Iris Bennett, his senior in the Hestia Familia, and its Vice-Captain known as the " _Enduring Bull"_.

"See? Now don't you feel refreshed and wide awake?" She giggled.

"Y-Yeah…" He groaned.

He wasn't sure that 'refresh' would be the word that he'd used to describe his frazzled demeanor, but he certainly was awake now. He nodded flicking his wrists to shake off the water droplets pouring down his arms.

"Good."

She flicked him on the nose.

"Ow…" He flinched and held it in pain. Well, it didn't hurt that badly but still!

"Sleeping in is a no-no! You wouldn't want to laze around and wake up to go out with an empty belly," Fingers laced behind her back, Iris backpedaled to the door and began to pull it shut upon her exit, "because before any adventure, an adventurer must always have a proper hearty breakfast to get them through the day. It's a reason why its one of the most important meals of the day." She winked. "So, you'd best hurry and come down to eat before you brave the dangers of the Dungeon, okay?"

"O-Okay…" He blurted out still preoccupied with shaking off all of the water that she swamped him with.

With one last giggle, she saw herself out leaving the boy to sigh at the mess he was laying in. Looks like he'll have to hang up his sheets to dry in the backyard…again. Looking at his hand, he reminisced about that odd dream that he had last night. It all felt too real to just write it off like nothing. This exhaustion of his must be connected to what he experienced, right?

Talking about what he experienced, what was with those stained glassed floors, the Heartless, that unknown town, who was speaking to him, and especially what were those "people" resembling Kami-sama, his grandpa, and…a younger captain supposed to represent? That last one he wasn't sure about, but the similarities were unmistakable.

He remembered facing that giant…Heartless, guh, he really needs to read through that book that the Captain gave him on the off chance that he'll be quizzed on it. Everything after that became an even bigger blur. He was surrounded by all this darkness then soon light pulled him out.

It was all trippy, nonetheless.

Imagining the weight of the sword that he chose and acting as if it was still in his grasp, he swung his arm out in sloppy mock swings and thrusts that would probably get him scolded by the Captain.

He scratched at his head and sharply inhaled and exhaled through his teeth. "Man, what a mess…" Thinking too much about the _"dream"_ was making him more tired than when he started. Perhaps, he should tell the Captain about it once he returns from that mission given to the Familia by the Guild, four days ago.

Other than the pay (which was just "wow", he almost passed out counting all of those zeros), both the true details of the quest's objective and the quest giver were all shrouded in mystery. The only thing specified to him by his Goddess was that it was a mission for the Captain alone to take.

A solo mission.

To Bell that sounded so cool. To have someone leading their familia be entrusted with such an important task only made him even curiouser about the skills of his Captain that he's yet to see. Strangely though, the other members of the familia, the Goddess didn't share this sentiment when the Captain had announced this. They all pleaded for him to at least take one of the others as a chaperone to go with him into the dungeon to skim down the duration of the quest much to the man's chagrin and denial.

Bell didn't understand why the others were so worried, though it was only a fraction, he bore witness to power that the Captain wielded, and the others who've been around longer than him must have enough evidence and reason to believe in his strength too. So why were they so against him going off on his own? The only answer that he got from the others is that he'll _see_ in due time with a tired groan from their adorable resident spirit mumbling about "a terrible sense of direction".

Either way, he had a good feeling that the man would return today so maybe then he'll get some answers about his _"dream"_ and burning request that he's been desperately wanting to ask him ever since they met.

He still remembered that dreadful night all those weeks ago, which ironically turned out to be the best day of his life.

Still scouring the streets of Orario with no home or Familia to go to, he unluckily found himself lost in the infamous districts of the Labyrinth City, Daedalus Street. All the rejections from every Familia that he tried to join was taking its toll on him that he almost considered to just crumple down and join the many beggars hopelessly lazing about on every street. Until he heard a scream belonging to a distressed Chienthrope child, who's age told that she shouldn't have been out and about at that time of night, was being stalked and harassed by these black creatures with glowing soulless eyes.

Up until that point, he's been fortunate to not come across the dreaded creatures that many in the city seemed to dub the "Heartless". A name he found terrifying and accurate since these monsters were attacking a defenseless little girl.

And if the stories that he happened to overhear were true then there was no sane reason to interfere and just let the known "professionals" handle the problem. He was sure that they'd come and save the girl in time.

Besides, what could he have accomplished by stepping in?

He was a country hick, who came to the city with unoriginal dreams and ambitions that many others who came before him aspired to achieve.

All he had to his name was the shirt on his back and the little supplies that he gathered from the farm. Not to mention that he lacked any feasible weapon to defend himself with, not that it would even matter since he had no experience in any form of martial combat to begin with.

So, what could he possibly do?

The only thing he could which was to just leave this poor, defenseless girl and keep his head down out of trouble. Since the city wasn't overrun with these Heartless creatures, then these "professionals" are the real deal and swoop in at any moment to save the day. During his fruitless walk through the city to find a Familia, he distinctly heard from one of the pair of Amazons that he was passing (he dared not to look at the one listening to the energetic one to avoid staring to long at her gifted upper body) about how amazing some guy titled "The Lost…Something" looked when handling these monsters.

He didn't get much after that since he was still desperate to find a Familia, but he did hear some distanced words from the energetic amazon exclaiming about attending another one of the Guild's weekly informational sessions.

So, yeah, he has nothing to worry about, he'll take the correct course of action and leave…

…

…

…

Frankly, his thoughts didn't match his actions since he was already running away with the frightened child's wrist in his hand! The damned creatures were chasing them, and his heart was pounding so loud that his eardrums felt like they were booming from the boost in his adrenaline. His legs carried him as fast as he could while mindful as to not drag the girl behind him.

He took any pathway the street offered, he was too caught up with running and avoiding pathways filling with Heartless that he paid no heed as to where he was supposed to go. The "Flight" button to his Fight of Flight response was tapped down and no amount of reason was going to stop him.

That was a mistake especially when traversing a district that's rumored to be the _other_ Dungeon because by taking one desperate last turn, they came upon a dead end. Backs to the wall and a horde of "Heartless" swarming them, Bell pushed the girl behind him and shakily put himself at the forefront of the danger.

Heroes were supposed to protect girls. That's what his Grandfather always told him, and he won't spend whatever last moments of his life being a coward and letting her suffer. Even without a weapon or combat experience, he'll stand strong and FINALLY make something of himself in this city even if it meant throwing away his life to ensure someone got to live past today.

He had regrets, so many to count. But he none of them would compare to the regret of letting a girl much younger than him die. That wouldn't be cool at all. He'd just hope that his Grandpa would at least be satisfied that he at least saved one damsel despite her being WAAAY too young for him to consider a love interest.

All as one, the shadowy monsters leapt at him and closed his eyes, hoping that his last moments won't be too excruciatingly painful.

But that's when _he_ showed up…

A gallant figure, who's plated blue and black armor shined in the moonlight with their black cape flapping in the heavy gale of wind that picked up from their odd shaped blade bearing a keychain which tore through the entire hoard of Heartless in one fell swoop.

It was like one of the pages from his storybook popped out and came to life. It was a real-life Knight. A Hero, who courageously stood before them. He jumped once the man made sure the monsters were gone and turned to them to ascertain both his and the girl's wellbeing. It was hard to not be intimidated since the helmet that they wore resembled a growling Wolf baring its fangs over and under the black visor covering their savior's face.

But even so, he felt safe…and strangely happy. Now, he knew it was obvious to be happy about surviving to live another day, but this sensation of happiness felt _nostalgic._ So nostalgic that it pushed him to tears.

And that's when he heard the girl behind him excitedly gasp out through her tears the words that he remembered hearing from that passerby Amazon.

The _Lost Key._

There was no way that he could refute what they said about the one standing before him being "amazing"! After that…well, all he could say was that night was the beginning of his new life in Orario as he was taken in by the Hestia Familia and got the opportunity to meet (and soon meet) so many wonderful people.

Shaking what little water that's on him off, he walked over to the lone wooden desk in his room. That's right, HIS room! Ever since he was a boy, he's been sharing one with his grandfather back at the farm. To be given his own space was liberating in its own way. At the moment it was spartan save for the bed near the wall of the room, a sheathed long sword held up by its strap on the back of his door by a bronze hook, am oaken bookcase already filled with the volumes of Adventuring material and Heartless textbooks that Eina and his Captain respectively gave him, and lastly his closet.

…To be honest, his closet had less space than the entirety of his room put together. He still remembered the day that his Goddess and Iris found out that other than the clothes he wore when he came to the city, he virtually had nothing else to wear. After that, he was dragged by them all over the northern main street, frequenting every shop imaginable; getting him sleepwear, extra underwear, boots, swimming trunks, jackets, formal wear and etc.

It was a very exhausting day. The feeling of being so doted on by his Familia was overwhelming and embarrassing but he was happy that they cared for him as much as they did.

Sad to say that things tragically went too far.

Let's just say that there was an incident that involved them forcibly putting him into a snow bunny costume, an innocent child making an incorrect observation, and a couple of nearby adventurers dangerously mistaking him for an Almiraj. That experience will forever haunt him to do this day; that he'll never talk about it **ever** again.

Now back to his desk. Picking up the sheet of paper from the day before, he intently gazed at the contents of the paper as he did the night before, hoping his stare could change the results that they displayed.

* * *

**_Bell Cranel_ **

**Level 1  
Strength: **I99 – H102 **  
Defense:** I75 – I85 **  
Dexterity:** I45 – I58 **  
Agility:** H120 – H150 **  
Magic:** I0

**Skill**

**[…]**

**Magic**

**[…]**

* * *

The update to his Falna, the grace bestowed upon mortals by their Gods/Goddesses, has still been on his mind ever since he looked it over yesterday. So far with the progress that he's made, he's actually been doing quite well ever since he started his career as an adventurer four weeks ago. His dives into the dungeon's Upper Floors have gotten much easier thanks to the hands on experience that his seniors provided for him by being there for his first dive and onwards until he got the hang of things , and because of the grueling sword training that his Captain and other senior have been putting him through.

Again, he's thankful for the support that his Familia has given him since in his own Goddess' words, he's been making good progress these past couple of weeks with fairly balanced stats for his Basic Abilities. Thanks to his work ethic, he's basically improving a bit faster than most newbie adventurers starting to strike out. For all intents and purposes, he had the right to feel proud of himself for making a substantial start to his new life in Orario when he could just as easily be struggling to get by like most other newbies.

But…

"Am I getting any closer…?" Bell frowned, putting down the paper and preparing his gear for the new day to come.

He felt inadequate while standing beside the others in his Familia. His contributions in the dungeon paled in comparison to the gains and amazing feats that the others were able to pull off.

He couldn't go on patrols.

His cashed in magic stones gave him a meager amount of valis compared to the amounts of income that the others made by going to the deeper floors.

And to top it all off, he was weak. Now this last part was a given. He's only just started to be an adventurer but that still did nothing to quell how envious he was of the strength his familia possessed, further feeding his frustration.

Which refers back to the question that he's been dying to ask the Captain ever since he's been taken in by Hestia-sama.

After toweling himself off, he outfitted himself in the light breastplate provided to him by the guild over his usual clothes consisting of a hip-length brown coat with a long-sleeved black shirt underneath, black pants, a beige belt with a silver buckle, and brown shin-high boots.

He felt more comfortable running around with this set on because he felt like using the new clothes his Goddess and Iris bought for him were too good (and *GULP!* expensive) to scuff up during his time in the dungeon. So, he's good with what he has on for now until the situation deems that he **needs** to change.

"BELL-KUN! Breakfast~!" Sang Iris's voice from downstairs, it more of a reminder to hurry up his preparations than a simple call indicate that meal was prepared.

Crap, here he's been caught up in his thoughts and feelings that he forgot that he had work that needs to be done this century. Plus, he needed to be quick if he wanted to ask a certain "someone" to accompany him. "Coming!" Pulling open his door after snatching the sheathed blade hanging on the back of it, his feet stormed through the upstairs' hallway and down the wooden steps to the coffee-scented open space known as the "Hearth Café".

Smooth oak tables and refurbished chairs stood in the middle of the café's wooden interior with a couple of cushioned booths placed alongside the walls around them. In the back of the room, placed just right beside the staircase was where all of the delicious magic happened as there stood a wide, bar countertop with a heavy assortment of coffee beans, cakes, pastries, and other pre-prepared products baked the night before.

In its own compartment beside the treats were a small bar of spirits locked behind a thick pane of glass. Hanging from the handle was a sign exclaiming in big bold words: **"KEEP OUT HESTIA!"**

The place was empty and despite the morning approaching noon, opening hours was still a ways away.

"I see that you're finally awake and in top form." Chided the same Cows woman who woke him up. She was manning the counter and cleaning it with a rag. The task seemed almost pointless since he could literally see her reflection on it but judging on how studious she was, there might have been some small blemish that was too distracting for her to ignore.

He sheepishly rubbed his head and bitterly laughed. "Yeah, getting a gallon of water poured on you in bed does that…"

"I see you've realized the effectiveness of my methods; it was only a matter of time. So, you won't hold any protest against me should I catch you dozing off again." She said coyly smiling as she playfully put a finger to her chin.

"P-Please don't…"

"No promises."

He sighed but it was to be expected since it'd be weird for her to stop employing that method weeks into using it on him every time he oversleeps.

As he walked over to the counter, Iris pulled out from underneath the counter a wrapped boxed lunch and a banana-nut muffin. Giving his thanks, he packed away the box and began to devour one of his favorite choices from the café.

The sensation of biting the fluffy muffin fueled his hunger for another bite as his taste buds salivated. He moaned. It wasn't overly too sweet, and the nuts plus the fruits put in it didn't make it too savory either. The combination was all too perfect.

His euphoria from indulging in the muffin must have been writ all over his face since Iris was laughing in her hand at the scene. Coughing away his embarrassment, he bowed his head to the woman and voiced his gratitude one more time. He also gave his apologies for being so expressive and vocal about his enjoyment of breakfast too.

"No need to be so wound up, Bell-kun. There's no sin in enjoying what you like, and your reaction is more of a compliment for us. If our food can make people happy then we must be doing something right." The woman's cow tail happily swished back and forth.

Bell blushed and scratched his head. He was glad that he wasn't being mocked about it but apart of him still couldn't shake off how flustered he was to act like that.

"Well when you put it like that…" Deciding to veer off topic, he asked. "S-So, Bennett-san do you know-"

"Ah, no need to be so formal, remember? Call me Iris." Iris wagged her finger at him as if he was a child.

"R-Right, I-Iris-san." It was a work in progress to be so formal with someone older than him like the Captain had insisted. "You wouldn't happen to know where Morris-san is do you?" He expected to see her downstairs but the only one here was Iris and if the incessant sounds of pots and pans clanging in the back kitchen were an indicator, he surmised that their Goddess was here too.

"Hm, Karen? Well, she left early this morning to go patrol the city. Always the diligent one." Iris sighed as she began cleaning a coffee mug. She paused and frowned after a thought crosses her mind. "…But these past few days, she's been leaving too early and doesn't stick around to get breakfast. Which is rather…odd for her."

Bell frowned. For all his time in the Hestia Familia, he could understand his other senior's strange behavior based on the fact that she **loved** to eat. So, it would be concerning for her to forgo one of her favorite meals of the day to go patrolling. However, Bell guiltily felt as though the reason why might've been him.

"O-Oh, I see…" He looked downcast.

"Was there something that you wanted to talk with about, Bell-kun?" Iris asked, looking worriedly at the boy.

"I was just wondering to ask if she would be okay with joining me in the dungeon today, but I guess since she's busy with patrol that I would be hindering her duties…" Bell sighed, dejectedly.

"Oh…well, maybe you can ask her again when the day's over. Who knows! Maybe you'll run into each other today and then you'll have your chance." Iris tried to cheer the boy up, but he still felt as crestfallen as he did before.

"Y-You really think so?" Bell meekly asked. He was a bit skeptical to readily believe that he'd Karen's approval to accept his invitation. He always felt as though she didn't like him. All of the signs were there ever since he joined the Familia and met her.

She was always quiet, and her stoic expression made her hard to read.

Whenever he tried to strike a conversation with her, she'd always ignore him, not even deeming to make eye contact with him.

Anytime he approached her or sat next to her during dinner, she'd distance herself from him.

Whenever the Captain or Iris wasn't around, the atmosphere around them would be extremely awkward and tense. One time, he was sure that she was giving him a fierce glare for ten minutes straight before he ran off apologizing.

The biggest sign of all was when the Captain had called for her to be his primary opponent during his swordsmanship training to better use the hand me down long sword that was gifted to him by the man. In one stroke of Karen's wooden sword, he was left unconscious for half the day. This was on the first day of training too!

So, he was skeptical to believe that she would willingly join him at least. It didn't stop him from trying to still reach out and get to know her, but he was expecting to be sharply rejected.

"I know so! Knowing her, you'll probably make things easier by taking the initiative!" Iris nodded.

"O-Okay, I'll give it a shot the next time I see her." Gaining some confidence from the Cows reassurance, he readied himself to confront his other senior with his question.

"Hey, hey! What's all the gibbering about out here?" A new voice chimed in as barefooted footsteps approached the front of the café from the backrooms.

Dressed in the same white apron as Iris over her usual blue ribboned, white mini dress was their beloved Goddess Hestia lugging out of the Kitchen a glass covered platter of cake.

"Ah, Hestia-sama. Its nothing, I was just talking to Bell-kun about…" Iris froze as she looked at the cake that her Goddess now placed on the counter and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hestia-sama…what is that?"

"Hm? It's a cake silly~! Oh, and good morning, Bell!" Hestia excitedly waved at her Child, who nervously waved back. He certainly wasn't the only person who was looking at the cake in exasperation since Iris seemed to be on the verge of looking exhausted and annoyed.

"Kami-sama, I know what it is, so what I should have asked is…why are you wasting so many ingredients to make the same cake again?" Iris looked pointedly at the blue frosted cake which had the words "Welcome Back, Michael" written in white frosting along with many frost hearts around the letters.

"Because today is finally the day that Michael comes back from his Mission!" Hestia threw her arms up in excitement and cupped a hand to her blushing cheeks. "And I really want him to feel welcomed back once he returns. So, welcomed back that he'll be so happy with me-." Looking so dazed that she might have been looking off into the distance with so much passion in her eyes, she stopped to notice the knowing glare that she was receiving from Iris. "*COUGH!* I mean us! He'll be so happy with US that his heart will burst with excitement, then maybe later he'll feel excited enough to _burst_ into me…ehehe…"

Bell couldn't really hear that last part but apparently Iris could since her cow ears were twitching and her cheeks were getting just as red as Hestia's.

"Hestia-sama!" Iris reprimanded.

"Oh, come on, Iris-chan! Don't tell me you're not excited that he's coming back! I can tell your happy too!"

"T-T-That's besides the point and besides, I'm still doubtful that he's coming back today just because of your Godly Intuition! Which, might I add has been proven wrong countless times this week." To anyone right now, Iris' face was as red as a tomato.

"Hmhmhmhm! That's right, Iris-chan, I saw how flawed my past intuition one, but this time is different. "Godly Intuition" wasn't strong enough to predict my Michael's arrival date, which is why I allowed it to evolve into a "Lover's Intuition"! Now I'm 100% certain that he's coming home today!" Hestia grinned and gave the Cows a thumbs up.

"You said that the last time with your last Intuition. The only thing that's changed about it is the title!"

"Eh!? You're doubting your Goddess' intuition, Iris-chan! For shame! I figured that someone like you would understand, but I assume I was right before when I said that my love for Michael eclipses your feelings."

Bell could have sworn that he heard Iris click her tongue. "T-That's not the point! Stop wasting all of our ingredients to make cakes based on your half-baked guesses. This is the fourth one that we'll have to give away this week!"

Bell still remembers the happy faces of the first customers, who received a free slice of cake along with their orders. On each day, he would try his best to placate his wailing Goddess who cursed each customer for eating all of her hard work and gift to the Captain.

"Before leaving to stay at the Guild, Chi made sure to establish a clear limit to our budget for ingredients and products. At this rate, we'll run out of stock for most of our baked goods."

Waving it off, Hestia in a carefree mood laughed. "Geez don't be so wound up, Iris-chan! If the budget's limit is the problem, then just rework the limit so we can buy more ingredients. I'm sure Chi won't mind."

"That's NOT how it works!" Iris frustratedly exclaimed, trying to scold their immature Goddess, who was downright terrible at handling the finances of the Familia.

Standing there watching the two women go back and forth with their argument, all Bell could do was nervously laugh at the scene before him. The only things that he could manage to think was how odd he was to be happy that he lived in an environment that was constantly filled this much noise after being alone for so long once his grandfather passed away, and how much he had to observe and learn from his Captain after seeing how obviously infatuated these two women were with him (Well, it was mostly evident with Hestia but he could definitely see the signs in Iris).

To be so strong and have the affections of more than one woman. It was like his Captain really came from the stories his Grandfather told him of Brave Heroes saving the day and earning the favor of many damsel to form a harem. His admiration was only matched with his frustration as he realized how wide the gap between him, and his Captain was in not only strength but also his goals in finally picking up his own love interest in the dungeon.

_'Hold on…' Bell noticed the time ticking away and gasped._

The more time he stood around here the less time he has in the dungeon. "Iris-san! Kami-sama! Sorry, but I have to go now!" As he ran to the front door of the inn, he mentally kicked himself for forgetting something crucial. His "dream". The Goddess was right there so she might have a clue as to what he went through was. That would be a question for another time, unless he asked Karen…that is if she would ever want to talk to him in the first place.

"Bell-kun, wait!"

Hand stopping before it turned the doorknob, he turned back to face the source of the voice.

His Goddess, the one, who so graciously deemed him fit to join her Familia and give him a home. A knowing look in her eye as she addressed him. "It might seem like you're the only one struggling to connect but understand that you're not the only shy Child around here. It may sound strange but there are many shades of "shyness", remember that, okay?" A small caring smile tugged at her lips.

Bell paused at his Goddess's enigmatic advice, the words of a God may have been extremely vague but were rumored to be extremely fruitful. So, digesting each word for future reference, he nodded and bowed his head to her and the now somewhat placated Iris.

"I will, thank you, Kami-sama!"

Both women giggled at the cute boy's earnest attitude.

""Bell-kun""

Raising his head, he looked to the two of them now with a hand placed over their chests. Their expressions calmly smiling with their eyes closed as if in prayer. Realizing what it was, he does the same.

"""May your heart be your guiding key."""

All three of them said in unison. It was a ritual that everyone did anytime they were going out. At first, Bell was confused and questioned why such a tradition was made in the first place, but after being told by his Goddess that it was a way of giving good luck to the choices that his heart will help him make, he sort of got the picture.

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Bell gave them a wave goodbye and opened the door out to the busy streets of Orario outside. "Well, I'm off!"

"Be careful down there, Bell-kun!" Hestia cried out.

"Make sure to stay on the Upper floors!" Iris warned in her goodbye to him.

With the door closed behind him, he sprinted out of the two-story building built in the Northwest district of the Labyrinth City. A wooden sign with the words: "Hearth Café" with the Familia's emblem, depicting a Flame surrounding a bell with a Key engraved in the bell, right in the middle of the two words.

Looking onwards at the colossal tower standing in the middle of the bustling city. Bell made his fast travel there with a full stomach and a determined goal in mind.

Today, he felt like he was ready to take the next step. That odd dream of his gave him a lot to think about and it might have been a sign for him to go beyond the usual routine. He left debating whether he was using the dream as an excuse to ignore Iris, Eina, and the Captain's warnings aside just to focus on his new goal.

To dive past the Upper floor's Fourth floor and get a grasp of what the Fifth floor has to offer. He felt confident enough in his stats for a quick look around, so for sure. He felt completely confident that this day would just fine.

Heck, he might dare to say that he's feeling lucky.

* * *

**(2 hours later)**

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

***ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!***

The ear shattering screams of a boy, who's vocal range resembled a girl's, could be heard along with the heavy hoofed stomps of a rampaging horned beast right on his tail with its red eyes shining with murderous intent.

* * *

**(Present)**

* * *

That's right, today was definitely going to be a _lovely_ day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. Though much didn't happen yet, this was all just laying the groundwork to introducing this story's Bell and the drastic changes to his living arrangements compared to Canon. So, this is where the story will focus on after the two-year timeskip that occurred after the Prologue, so expect to see more changes to the City of Orario.
> 
> So, I'm sure that you're aware from how Iris Bennett was able to nonchalantly use Water magic that she's officially a Keyblade Wielder. This character was actually referenced in the Prologue and shortly foreshadowed so this shouldn't come out of left field. This character is from the shutdown Orario Rhapsodia mobile game, but as of now in the story, she's 19 years old and from revealed epithet, she's not a Level One.
> 
> The same could be said for Michael's revealed epithet.
> 
> Now her and Michael's exact levels are a spoiler, so their statuses won't be shown for a long time, but you'll eventually get your fill of Bell's and the other character's stats as the story progresses. Now I'm sure you guys already know who the other character is since you already Wiki'd their name since they are from the same game as Iris, so I won't say any more than this: Next chapter we'll see how exactly the Keyblade Wielders have integrated themselves in Orario and the waves they make in the city with their presence along with the Heartless.
> 
> So, the Bell in this story actually joins the Hestia Familia a bit earlier than in canon so he's been adventuring the Dungeon for four weeks as opposed to his canon counterpart's two weeks.
> 
> This story's Hestia is a bit more "chill" and wise than the canon Hestia since her affections are towards a person, who's both old enough and mature enough to recognize her feelings and gain her reassurance so that she won't be overtly jealous and clingy (well, most of the time). Because the canon counterpart expecting a 14 year old boy, who's new to romance, to return his feelings to a person, who he views as a mother isn't going to get her any results. Now it's still the same loveable, goofball of a Goddess that we all know and love (or hate) but this time, her relationship with her Familia (especially Bell) is strictly motherly.
> 
> Now, its not going to be the first time I've tackled this genre since I'm also writing for High School DxD, but yes this will be a Harem fic, but it won't be oversaturated. There's a set limit of love interests for both Bell and Michael so please don't PM or review suggestions.
> 
> And before you ask: "How the hell is someone like Hestia okay with a harem?"
> 
> All I have to say to that is that she's less wound up after entering a serious relationship. If you don't catch my meaning, then look over her inappropriate side comment about bursting. With less inhibitions, she now easier to tide over through Michael privately giving her his "suggestion".
> 
> …Yeah, this just got awkward, so just look forward to the next chapter. I'm about to get ready to return to College since Winter Break is over for me!
> 
> I'm Out so Peace Out!
> 
> Stay safe and healthy everyone!


	4. Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia (2)

**Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia (2)**

* * *

"Heartless swarm! Heartless swarm! Clear ou-Guwaaaa!"

The cries of an unfortunate Ganesha Familia adventurer getting decked by a blue massive, grubby fist blended in with the terrified screams that polluted Orario's Market Area. The once relatively peaceful businesses set up in stands selling their wares to customers was now a chaotic mess of citizens from young to old barreling past the brave adventurers intending to fend off the dark scourge from harming the innocent.

As Orario's main police force, it was their job to uphold order and ensure the safety of the public. Not just to avoid dishonoring the Ganesha Familia's credibility as the city's defenders but also for the sanctity of not allowing themselves to be cowed by the fear that the Heartless' vile presence oozed. If anyone were in the shoes of these adventurers, they would be intimidated by the encroaching threat that plagued the wide streets ahead of them.

Well, they'd first have to get over how ridiculous the abominations looked before letting the terror sink in as a whole gaggle of spherical bodied creatures garbed in odd purple sleeveless bodysuits, chained manacles on their wrists, and silly tiny wizard hats atop their heads were marching in a bumbling fashion down the roads. With no care in the world their engorged bellies and careless gait demolished the surrounding stands and street businesses set up on various parts of the street. As one their heavy footsteps shook the earth in the area as the adventurers felt each tremor from where they stood.

These monsters were aptly called Large Bodies. Though one would normally question why in the recently sold texts at the Guild was such an unoriginal name was given to such an obvious observation of the enemy, no one could discount the sheer weight the name held unless one saw the Heartless for themselves.

However, to say that the sheer size of the thing alone was intimidating was often met with criticism based on how silly and bloated it looked to the uninformed adventurer. They'd just write the creature off as being logically too slow and obese to actually hit anything, making them exceedingly easy to dispatch of.

***CRAAAASH!***

That mentality pretty much sealed the fates for those unprepared and reckless enough to just charge in as another Ganesha Adventurer doing their best to hold back and exterminate the creatures just received a meaty fist to the schnoz; making their relationship with the ground two meters away rather intimate.

By now most of the city's competent adventurers have set aside their preconceived notions on the Heartless these last two years where they've been prominently emerging out of nowhere. Any veteran adventurer, who's dived into the dungeon countless times could predict the best methods of handling the dungeon's monsters, but once they try to apply that logic or any form of logic to the Heartless, they're in for a **VERY** bad time.

How bad? Well, the number of missing adventurers reported in by their Familias and the massive surge in Heartless in congruent with those statistics in just those 6 months upon their unexpected arrival should be evidence enough.

Underestimating them by appearance alone was the main cause of these incidents. This was very applicable to the most common culprits that appear in droves called the "Shadows". They're adorable yet creepy look made standard Adventurers believe they were an easy kill like the upper floor monsters; however, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Yes, they were simple to dispatch of as it took less effort and magic in comparison to the more daunting forms of the creatures that pop up in the later months and years since their emergence. Yet, their numbers were what made them dangerous.

Most adventurers strong enough to clear them out are left vulnerable once they get the idea that they've destroyed an entire horde; except they'd find out too late that they failed to account for one of them sinking into the ground and hiding away until their prey lets their guard down. As these past years have proven, these creatures are crafty little devils that put even the single-minded dungeon monsters hellbent on murdering humanity to shame.

Doing whatever they can to force back the Large Bodies, the Adventurers followed the advice that the written texts about Heartless stated about them. Charging at them a group of Level 2s wielding various weapons narrowly weaved past their rapidly thrown heavy blows to try and attack their vulnerable backs. The blubber of their bellies was written to be resistant to physical damage so to save themselves the trouble breaking their blades, they took the chance to retaliate with no hesitation.

Their weapons wailed at the backs of the Large Bodies, who looked mildly annoyed by the discomfort by the treatment (though it was hard to tell based on their lifeless yellow eyes).

Staying on their toes, the Ganesha's blessed adventurers immediately drew back as a couple of the Heartless lethargically swung their fists back at them. The sheer force of their multiple backhanded swings released a powerful shockwave of air at the adventurers. Some were able to dodge unscathed while a few unfortunate souls had the rotten luck of getting thwacked and sent hurtling into the nearby buildings and streets by the extra reach of the chains attached to the Large Bodies' manacles.

Those who were left unscathed looked on at the enemy in frustration as they ambiguously looked about at them before nonchalantly scratching their guts. Their attacks were ineffective. Ordinary weaponry was known to do little damage to the creatures if the strength of the attacker wasn't substantial and because of the sudden emergence of these monsters, the Ganesha patrol weren't stocked with any Magic Swords to do anymore extra damage.

Not that the added benefit of having them would do drastically tip the scales in their favor. First off being that they're undeniably expensive. Second, the weapons were with how they were already limited with how many spells that they could execute before breaking and compared to actual magic that's most others can do themselves; they really weren't that reliable against the Heartless.

Right now, the only feasible thing the adventurers could do was ensure that the obese monstrosities didn't scatter throughout the city by locking them down to this location. Which was easier said than done based on how the Large Bodies were creaming them anytime they were in close range or stampeded them with the large forms.

All they could do was wait for help to arrive; either in the form of more reinforcements from their Familia or the professional aid of the _one_ responsible for the written texts detailing the specifics about the Heartless, an unknown adventurer, who's made themselves known not too long after the arrival of these dark creatures two years ago, slaying the Heartless who were rapidly corrupting many innocents into their unholy ranks.

Many were healthily suspicious of the unknown individual's perfectly timed arrival after the Heartless scourge made itself known throughout Orario. Out of nowhere, black creatures of the darkness began converting innocents to make more of themselves, and there just so happened to be someone, who's not only knowledgeable about the unknown monsters but also possesses the one true weapon that can harm them? The many denizens were right to be skeptical about the whole thing.

Rumors still being made to this day about them even claimed that they were the cause of the outbreak of the vile creatures and decided to make fame and money off of it. Though these rumors have lost their healthy skepticism and disdain over the years and are now thrown around bitterly by washed up adventurers hoping to slander the good name of the unknown adventurer.

All doubts that the citizens and most of the Gods/Goddesses had with him were snuffed out during a massive event which took place two years ago in the unorthodox and convoluted low-class district in Orario, Daedalus Street. On that day, just three months into that year, the city had experienced what a army of Heartless _truly_ looked like in comparison to the countless droves that attacked in packs or groups. Heartless of varying forms and powers wreaked havoc on the poorer citizens that lived in the district with no means of defending themselves.

That day has officially been dubbed in the history of Orario: "The Dark Siege on Daedalus".

On that day, both a disaster and a miracle were born. Faced against the odds of eliminating the endless hoards of Heartless and protecting all of the struggling citizens of Daedalus Street, the unknown adventurer alone shouldn't have been able to accomplish such a feat, yet _he_ **did.**

Reports on the happenings during the mess was a series of unintelligible remarks that couldn't pinpoint a single thing that quelled the Heartless, but all witness (yes, ALL witnesses in Daedalus street) could recount and assure the many who asked that the one responsible for saving their lives was the same man.

The same man, who did what seemed physically impossible by saving EVERY citizen in that district and eliminating any of traces of the Heartless in one day solely by himself. There were no casualties, none were lost to the darkness. Just **_one_** injured and that injured person wasn't the haggard, beaten form of the savior.

After that, the Unknown Adventurer vanished for a month after earning the unofficial title _"Savior of Daedalus"_ from the citizens of the city and especially the district before resurfacing again. Where had he gone during that time, no one knows. All they did know after that was that they now had a Legend protecting their streets from the Heartless.

Gone were the skepticisms towards an unknown man who was facing suspiciously facing an unknown threat. Orario warmly welcomed the new "Hero" into the rank and file of the many others as his Legacy and notoriety only continued to grow in the dungeon itself along with a few other misadventures of his that earned him the moniker of the _"Lost Key"._

But tales of those events are best saved for another time…

Since there was still the threat of getting flattened by these Large Body Heartless!

"Where's reinforcements!?" One of the adventurers cried fending off the devastating attacks of one of the Large Body Heartless with his shield, which was getting severely dented with each blow it took.

"They're still coming! Hold the line!"

"What the fuck do you think I've been doing this entire time!"

"Don't be a dick, Frank!"

"Fuck you, Todd!"

The arguing amongst the Ganesha adventurers only grew with each powerful push back by the Heartless. It only took one combined attack from the frontline of the creatures to send the adventurers flying and crashing into the brick streets of the city. The air was knocked out of most while the few were knocked out from the combined attack.

Encroaching on them with no intention on stopping the Large Bodies marched over to them with no intentions on stopping. They were going meet an unpleasant end by being trampled over the titanic monsters.

Whimpering, one female adventurer closer to the marching death parade gasped out. "H-Help…"

**"-zzard!"**

The call from a rushing stoic voice reached most of the adventurer's ears as their eyes widened at the sight of half of the Large Body Heartless getting engulfed by a chilling pale blue light that entrapped them in crystalline ice, completely unmoving. Looking just as confused as the downed adventurers, the other Large Bodies looked about the place, completely lost on what's happening until the agile form of a shadow appeared right in front of one of them.

In a single thrust of the figure's key-chained weapon to the creature's thick belly, it sent the one befuddled Large Body Heartless spiraling back. Not even minding that one of its own was just shunted off down the other end of the street like a cannonball, the remaining Large Body's sights were automatically drawn onto the form of the newcomer standing between it and the adventurers.

But the adventurers might as well not even exist to it anymore as all of its attention was now solely focused on smothering the life and stealing the heart of its new target. Not out of annoyance or even anger. But out of **fear** of what they possessed in their left hand.

Lacking any of the lethargic nature that a Large Body would possess it urgently raised its arm to squash the foe in front of it, only to notice a weight had been lifted off its arm. The sound of thud could be heard beside it. Ah, its entire arm was bisected from the rest of it and soon it would oddly find itself looking at the world as if everything was turned upside down.

***THUD!***

The adventurers' eyes widen after getting a display of their "reinforcements" dismember the arm and head of the Large Body, who's entire form dispersed in wisps of darkness and emerging from that darkness was an illuminating heart that flew off into the air before disappearing in a burst of light.

As they took closer look at the unique weapon that they possessed, they were sure that they were saved by the _Lost Key_ of all people but the only distinction that would ward people from reaching that conclusion was the fact that the _Lost Key_ was a 'he' not a 'she'.

No, standing before them was a raven-haired beauty, whose silver eyes studiously surveyed the scene around her. Her form was alluringly lithe and toned for a young lady of her age; her long and flowing hair was partly braided. For those looking at her, her eyes were the only way to try to read her thoughts as her facial expression was, but a stoic stonewall of a look. Thankfully this lack of expression of hers further added to the cool and regal vibe that she naturally exuded from how she seemed to carry herself through her straight back posturing and leveled shoulders.

Her choice of attire was a strange mix of belts, and…zippers? She wore a unique short-sleeved hooded dark and light purple dress which possessed many zipped pockets with only the main zipper being partly unzipped to reveal a long-sleeved purple undershirt, who's sleeves stretched out to her wrists just a few inches shy of meeting her belted black gloves possessing a silver rectangular plate. Black leggings that completely covered her legs reached her black, belted heeled boots.

Wrapped around her neck was a silver kitten necklace.

The sense of fashion behind it did seem _stylish_ in its own way, but what really drew the eyes of the adventurers was the undeniable weapon that linked her to the _Lost Key:_ The Keyblade, a weapon vaguely written by the "Savior of Daedalus" to be the feared bane to the hardwearing Heartless infestation.

In her hand was a red, one-edged sword with a white inner edge. A yellow wing which swept around it, formed what looked to be the teeth to the weapon. On the hilt blending into grey was the symbol of a rainbow-colored ring. The handle was a deep red, and the guard around it was another sweeping wing, colored blue and with it not fully connecting to the other end of the blade's guard. Dangling from the end of the guard was a keychain resembling a shooting star with a bowshock.

"…Stay back." A quick glance over her shoulders, she softly gave word of caution to the battered Ganesha adventurers. Eyes trailing back to the remaining Heartless on the street, she spotted that their rampage has stopped and instinctually set their sights on her, the wielder of the bane of their existence.

Good.

***CRACKLE!* *CRACKLE!***

The entrapped Large Bodies encased in the ice beside her straining their muscles to break free from the prison as soon as they detected her presence. Spider web-like cracks appeared all over the icy block as they were mere moments away from freedom. Until the girl silently raised the tip of her blade at it.

_' **Fire** …' She thought and mentally channeled the image of a kindling flame in her mind._

***BOOOOM!***

For the adventurers watching, their jaws fell as a medium sized fire ball engulfed the ice encased Heartless in a fiery explosion and reduced them to ash. The potency of the spell was astonishing. But mostly, they gaped at the fact that it was magic without a chant.

Their collective thoughts were broken once the ground started to shake from the collective charging of the remaining Large Bodies in the area. All of them stampeding towards the regal girl. Taking a deep breath, she let her stance grow lax as the hold on her Keyblade tightened. She took a single step which became a large bound forward towards the center of the cavalcade of Heartless.

Within the range of the centermost Large Body, she immediately kicked off the ground and leapt over the creature, which struggled to skid to a stop along with the other two; all of their attention was squarely focused on her. Landing behind the center heartless, she grasped both hands on the handle of her keyblade and heartily swung upwards on its vulnerable back. The force of which it took considerable effort and pooling all of her strength to accomplish on the fact that the creature was incredibly heavy.

There was a noticeable difference between her attack and the adventurers. Normal weapons unless held by stronger users wouldn't be able to critically damage the thickset heartless as evidenced by before. However, the raven-haired girl's odd weapon showed to everyone why it was the preferred weapon to exterminate the dark menaces.

The Large Body was actually flailing its arms in the air in a panic. Not letting up, the girl held her keyblade as though she was wielding a rapier and once more threw her entire body into plunging her keyblade through back of the creature.

One down…

"Two more to go…" She recounted to herself as two massive fists from her left and right began to rain down on her from the two remaining Large Body heartless. A tremor filled the area along with a cloud of dust and debris from the brick road. The two heartless found that their attack had not crushed the life out of the accursed key bearer.

Two sets of hollow, yellow eyes searched the immediate perimeter of their area.

***ZAAN!***

But only one of these set of eyes found themselves staring at the back of the keyblade wielder with the weapon having been swung. This would have been the time where the creature would have retaliated but found itself unable to do so once it recognized that it was staring at the back of its own body as well as the back of the keyblade wielder, who beheaded it from behind.

As the headless Heartless fell in a rumbling tumble, its dark decaying body and released Heart left the girl with no cover as she was now in the view of the other Large Body standing right in front of her. And just she would expect, its first response was to violently charge at her with both of its massive arms lunging out to squash her head like a watermelon.

Twisting on her heel, she spun her entire body around the monster's arm and with a flick of her wrist a silver flash arced across the Large Body's arms. The meaty sounds of the heartless's arms hitting the ground echoed throughout the street. Desperate it attempted to cloak itself in a kinetic aura of darkness as a do or die attempt at bulldozing the girl; however just as it was about to take that first step, another flash of the girl's keyblade had bisected one of the creature's legs.

Left kneeling down on its one knee, literally disarmed, all the monster could do was silently look at its slayer with the self-same impassive look in its yellow eyes. Just between the yellow orbs looking at the girl was the sharp tip of her keyblade.

**"Fire."**

***FWOOOOSH!***

It was done. Watching the last of the Heartless be reduce to pile of ash and black wisps, the girl placed a hand on her chest and took a deep comforting breath. Some beads of sweat dripped down her forehead as she began to cool off.

All of the work that she had put in these following mornings were beginning to strain her. She put a hand to her grumbling stomach as if tempering the growling beast of an appetite that she decidedly forewent to appease this current morning.

_'…N-Need…food…' The girl pitifully thought and frowned though the unbelievable wave of hunger going through her._

The past few days, she's been following a routine. Wake up early, go out on patrol, buy a snack, continue with patrol for the rest of the day, buy more snacks, return home for dinner, then go to bed…while sneaking a few of the café's pastries past Iris without getting caught.

She shuddered at the Cows woman once again catching her red handed and barring her from all of the establishment's sweets for a month. That was indeed a dark day…still didn't deter her from committing the same crime though.

This routine wasn't anything new, its been pretty consistent these past four weeks when the new arrival joined their Familia's ranks. Whenever the Master was off taking care of a mission alone (despite the protests of her, Chi, Iris and her Goddess), she was quick to go off to do the city patrol for Heartless on her own. Feeling a bout of lightheadedness, she gripped her head and shook it off. It might have been the hunger talking but she wondered why she didn't just wake up a little later in the morning and just joined everyone for breakfast.

Then a flash memory of unpleasant events revolving around her interactions with the new familia member flashed through her mind.

_'…That's why…' She heavily sighed, any remnants of happiness being drained away and replaced with anxiety…and more burdening hunger._

The pained and exhausted groans of the adventurers reached her ears as she immediately turned around and made her way over to them. Putting on her most serious noble expression that she could (made much easier through years of beaten in practice that are best to be forgotten), she shook off her clouded thoughts and feelings. She couldn't let herself be weighed by doubt unless she allowed her Heart to be clouded and begin to get affected by her inner darkness.

Her Master would say that doubt would lead to fear, and fear would lead to anger, then anger would transform into hatred. And that very hatred would soon get consumed by the Darkness. Either it would attract the Heartless to feed on her, or she'd succumb to the darkness that resides in her like every living being.

So, she definitely needed to brighten her mood, and the best way of doing that would be to finally tackle her biggest challenge yet.

Socializing.

"Is everyone fine?" She folded her arms behind her back and asked the nearest adventurer, who was directing the others to tend to the wounded.

Said adventurer jumped with a start and turned around to face her, visibly relaxing at her sudden appearance. She frowned was she that sudden with her approach? Should she have made sure that her footsteps were louder?

"O-Oh, yeah, we were able to secure the area and locked those Large Bodies here as much as we could. It took a considerable amount of effort but thank Ganesha you showed up when you did, otherwise we'd be flattened."

"The Large Bodies do tend to do that…" She spoke, monotonously. The adventurer laughed. Why? Its been taught to her by Master that they were known to be extremely dangerous for their impossible weight and smothering their victims to death. So why was he laughing at such a gruesome detail?

Her stoic expression tightened as the adventurer's laughing ceased. "So, yeah, thanks for the help especially for these past few days. You've been a great help to the other patrol squads with culling these monsters."

"Your thanks are not needed…" She quickly spoke, her voice strained and monotonous like before. Her eyes quickly averted from the adventurer's after firmly making eye contact. Save those in her familia, a few others and **_her…_** she always had a bit of a problem when communicating with strangers when the situation was more leisurely and less serious as she was taught to be (again, memories best left forgotten).

"O-Oh…okay, I-I just really felt that I should give you our thanks…sorry…"

Ah, why was he sad? She just meant that it was part of her duty to protect the citizens of Orario from the Heartless threat, so there was no need to thank her for a job that she's happily willing to uphold. She respected the Ganesha Familia for continued their years of service for policing the streets of the Labyrinth city, and even attempting to hold back the Heartless despite their _out of this world_ anatomy which made them so hard to slay and permanently put down with ordinary weapons.

It was officially decreed by the Guild two months after the "Dark Siege on Daedulus" incident did they finally deem the patrol and extermination of the Heartless in the hands of the _Lost Key's_ Familia. Though this decree came with it a monthly, stipend payment from the Guild for the Hestia Familia's resources since their numbers were still quite small.

When her Goddess had further answered her questions about these monthly payments from the guild, she also bitterly revealed that with each new member to join the Familia, their monthly pay decreases. She also heard her mutter a curse towards some "Greedy Pig" implementing the policy, at first, she was confused by who she meant, but after six months of being an adventurer in Orario, she was quick to make the distinction down at the Guild.

Those who've tried to slay the Heartless either live to fail miserably or fail and lose their "heart" miserably. Others vainly trying to gain the same supposed get quick fame deeds that the _Lost Key_ pulled off, or those in desperate Familias to get the same paid treatment from the guild by attempting to deal with the accursed Heartless.

It was only the Ganesha Familia that faced the Heartless and even suffered some casualties just to ensure the city's safety for the simple sake of it. They didn't receive any pay from the Guild for it, they only defended the citizens because it was their duty, and she respected them for it.

…Now thinking about it, shouldn't she have said all of that to him?

"Uh…I…" Jumbling through her thoughts and lost in a maze in her mind, she was utterly tongue tied.

"…"

"…"

"…"

If the mood before wasn't uncomfortable, it was awkward now…

"I…again…thanks for the help and also give the _Lost Key_ my thanks as well for continued support these past two years… Also, sorry again…" The adventurer sighed and turned back to help his comrades.

_'He's leaving! Q-Quick, there must be something that I could…' She internally panicked as her hands patted around her body until a couple of objects rolled about in the pocket of her dress. 'This-!'_

"Ahem!"

"Hm?" The adventurer turned around to spot interlaced between the fingers of the indifferent looking girl, three corked vials of shimmering fluids containing within them a small crystalline star that exuded a calming green aura. The adventurer's eyes widened. "Wow, is that…?"

"Your comrades are injured so this will at least ensure that your stock on potions won't run out before everyone is properly healed." The girl coughed into her other hand.

"A-Are you sure? Aren't those one of the Blue Pharmacy's newest line of potions? I heard that their stock for this month just ran out last week. How were you able to get any; they usually get bought out before getting restocked." Caught between looking hesitant and wanting, the adventurer was in inner turmoil over the offer.

Not that it would be surprising considering the amount of notoriety that the Miach Familia's Blue Pharmacy has been recently getting these passing months since last year. The potency of their line of potions have been noticed by most of the low-class and mid-class adventurers in the city based on account of their potions garnering strange affects to go with their healing properties.

One example would be their first known brand that really gained traction with adventurers in the dungeon, potions that she's currently handing away. A potion that when ingested not only heals the user, but also enshrouds them in a healing green aura that continues to mend their wounds for a total of 30 seconds. This among other strange effects that they sold in the Blue Pharmacy have grown fairly popular in demand by the adventuring denizens of Orario, heck, there have been occasions where a high class adventurer stumbled into their store to buy out most of their stock for an expedition.

Now this didn't mean that their production of the odd concoctions made them business rivals with the well-known medicinal businesses like the Dian Cecht Familia, but their original brands have secured them a steady income and a good name that'll grasp the attention of future curious customers.

If a comparison was needed to be made, the under-staffed and high-quality work of the Blue Pharmacy was to the Dian Cecht Familia was in essence what the Goibniu Familia was to the Hephaestus Familia's blacksmiths.

"How I was able to get them is of no concern. Take them and make sure that your friends receive the utmost care to their health, understood?" She pushed the potions onto the adventurers albeit while saying that a bit coldly. That matter was strictly between the Hestia Familia and the Miach Familia.

She had actually received the potions during her patrols by the latter Familia's patron deity just as they were opening shop.

It was one of the last potions in stock before they sold out and required the materials to make more of them. She thought rather fondly of the memory, Miach was rather insistent on giving them to her as thanks for the "help" that her Master and Hestia provided for them during the destitute phases of both their Familias' early careers.

His lone familia member, who was usually shrewd about giving handouts had agreed that it was only fair that they give their Familia portions of their products as a 5% recompense for providing them the materials and extra skills to even craft the potions in the first place. Speaking of Miach's Familia member, she vaguely remembers that the God told them during one of his visits to the Hearth Café that they were finally so close to reaching the halfway mark to paying off their debt.

"T-Thank you!"

Looking between her and the potions in his hands, the adventurer gave her a deep bow as thanks and turned to help treat his Familia members. While the little girl within the stoic keyblade wielder cheered for claiming such a minor victory over her inability to socialize this moment was short-lived as the adventurer does a doubletake and pointed over her shoulder while exclaiming.

"B-Behind you!"

Her reflexes alone were fast enough for her to recognize the leaping form a Shadow heartless lunging right at her with its claws bared. Sad to say that she couldn't draw her keyblade in time enough for her to strike it down before it could leave a mark. It was already this close to her? Was it hiding in the shadows, lying in wait to attack any unguarded adventurers should the Large Bodies be dispatched of?

**"Thunder."**

All of these questions rushed through her head, but they along with her worries melted away when a loud snap of the fingers was followed by a thundering clap of lightning that struck the Heartless before it could drag its claws across her face. The resounding blast of magic had even dug a large crater right in front of her.

The girl's silver eyes were joined by the many adventurers behind her, they weren't even giving the smoldering remains of the vanishing Heartless their attention anymore. No, their attention lied beyond it on the approaching form of the one for employing such powerful magic that it made the girl's look tamer in comparison.

"Hi, Karen!"

Giving a bright smile and a wave with the outstretched hand that shot the lightning spell, a strikingly handsome man of above average height (6' 1'') with dark skin and black, spiky hair leisurely strode across the ruined street towards them. His clear blues eyes happily looked them all over in relief while the lower end of his unzipped hooded black long coat flapped about behind him. Underneath it a chain necklace holding the token image of a wolf jangled around the collar of his zipped up turtlenecked black t-shirt.

"M-Master?" The girl unmoving expression gaped open in surprise as her eyes began to joyfully shine at the unexpected arrival of the man.

"The _Lost Key…"_

"So that's him?"

"He's handsome."

"He doesn't seem all that imposing for some guy at Level 3."

"You know, the rumors never did mention that he was tall, but I always imagined him being tall."

"And handsome…"

"Does he do something to make his hair that spiky or is it natural."

"Uh, guys, he's looking right at us… I also think he can hear us too…"

This also earned the comments of the Ganesha adventurers behind her who were just as taken back by the presence of the new arrival.

The light footsteps of his blue-belted black boots that were partially hidden by black jeans filled the silent area as all eyes were on him. On the right shoulder of his black long coat with blue linings was a sleek and light, black and blue piece of ornate armor.

After getting into close enough range, he raised one his black and blue fingerless plated gloved hands to give another wave of hello in a vain attempt to wave off the many stares and comments that he was receiving.

"Ahem, I see that the situation had been taken care of. Way to keep the problem secure and minimize the damages," The man frowned as he took noticed of the multiple busted stands and too many to count craters that filled the streets and nearby buildings. He sweatdropped, "Well, minimize is used lightly…" He quietly kept that part to himself.

"Good job, everyone!" He congratulated all of the adventurers who deemed to either gave their embarrassed thanks for the praise or were too tired and deemed it at that moment to continue healing their injured and wait for more Ganesha Familia members to arrive and assess the damages with an associate of the Guild.

Turning his attention to the girl, the man blinked and tiredly sighed as he found her dutifully bowing her head to him much to exhaustion.

"Master, I'm glad that you're trip back from your mission has brought you back unharmed."

"Karen…"

"Knowing that matters were left in your hands then your quest's objective has been dutifully completed as expected of you."

"Karen."

"Everything's been running smoothly since your departure. The café has been well these following days with a bit of a…hiccup…" That earned a raised eyebrow from the young man but shrugged it off and surmised it had something to do with their shortstack goddess. "I believe Cranel-san has been doing well in the dungeon's upper floors, and I was able to keep the Heartless attacks from growing too chaotic to the best of my ability."

"Karen."

"I know. When battling a swarm of Heartless consisting of the same species, always remain vigilant of any hidden Shadows waiting to strike. That was one of your lessons, and I almost suffered for my brief bout of laxness by not heeding it. Forgive me. I promise next time that I'll keep vigilant and-."

She stopped her tirade of a report upon feeling the warmth of his hand on her head. A gesture that she's grown to yearn for and relish these past six months that she's joined the Hestia Familia.

"Karen…" Raising her head, her eyes trailed up from the cold hard ground to see the warm comforting smile of the man that was her master. "I'm glad to see you too."

"Y-Yes, as am I to see you back to us safe, Master Michael…" Bashfully, she stuttered and stiffly nodded at her elder trying not to get too caught up in looking at his blue eyes for much longer than needed. Thankfully, the man had no idea the effect his gaze had on her as he was too busy scanning for something else.

"Plus, I'm glad to see that your keeping up with your duties and taking care of yourself, riiiight?"

"…!"

He lightly chuckled to himself as the girl's posture shot up in a straight line. For most who haven't known her Karen Morris may have seemed next to impossible to read due to her cold expressions but if they were to gleam for more than just her facial cues, they'd be able to tell based on her body language and appearance.

She had bags under her eyes, a common indicator for lack of rest, and he's seen her react way faster to Heartless faster than a Shadow before so something slightly strange must be happening to her.

***Grooooooooowl~!***

"E-Excuse me…" The girl's cheeks grew red from embarrassment as she rubbed at her grumbling stomach.

Okay, if he heard that right then the girl was starving herself, which made things exceedingly strange considering the massive foodaholic his pupil was. So, they really needed to have a chat.

He stepped sideways and gestured down the road. "Well, c'mon then. Its been a while since I had some unhealthy street food to clog up my arteries so let's fill ourselves up on our way to the Guild, hm?"

"B-But…" She began.

"Now I know that you want to finish with patrol, and I won't stop you if something big pops up. Hell, I'd even join to lessen the load, but knowing to take a respite when searching for disturbances is crucial for the development of exceptional Keyblade Wielders." This probably had to have been the twentieth time that he's instilled this lesson into her head.

Unlike Iris, who in the past, needed encouragement, Karen was the exact opposite and got too wrapped up with training and her duties to properly catch some rest.

He still remembers the week where she finally got her keyblade to materialize after three months of waiting, usually for those who were Bequeathed the weapon than it naturally (rarely) coming to them, they would struggle with trying to summon it at will.

So, after giving her a lesson to gradually call out her keyblade at will, he expected her to be patient with the process of training like Iris before her. Boy was that an oversight on his part since she spent their entire week in the yard swinging her arms out to gradually remember the sensation of calling her weapon. Eventually her rate of summoning the keyblade jumped from 25% to 50% by the end of the week which was an impressive accomplishment since it took many months to get it that high. This did come with ramifications since she forewent sleep to accomplish this (while thankfully eating the food that Hestia and Iris left for her out of worry born from frustration with stubborn girl.) and fell into a deep sleep for another week.

It was after that did Michael lay down the ground rules for her and any of his future pupils. Any strenuous training undergone that risks their health will be punished by the following:

1\. No lessons in Keyblade techniques and Magic

2\. No Dungeon Diving

3\. And fulltime work at the café for a week (while being barred from all the confections)

After accidentally Bequeathing Iris her own keyblade during his first months in this world, Michael was honestly thrilled to spread his teachings to others in order to no longer feel so alone. However, after the _incident_ during the Siege of Daedalus, he resolved himself to be better with his methods of training since he at the time boasted the strength of a Keyblade Master but was officially named "Keyblade Master".

Well, he wasn't dubbed one until he took matters into his own hands and undertook one of the deadliest methods of the Mark of Mastery that was frowned upon amongst the Unions. A high risk and low survivability exam for those impatient enough to no longer wait for their Union's Master to deem them ready to be tested to become a "Keyblade Master" under them.

**The Ordeal of the Heart.**

As evidenced that he was still around, he was proud to have overcame the challenge, but at the same time, he'd much rather not remember the experiences that pushed him to take it. The memory of blood on his hands and the scarred, catatonic Cows girl almost made him freeze and go into another one of his…"episodes".

To put it simply, the whole thing was utter hell and despite not comparing to…the war, he'll never put himself through that again (including his pupils by withholding the information). Not to mention that aftermath of his self-imposed Mark of Mastery created a different problem that he's not willing to let surface lest brings more attention onto himself.

Back to the issue with Karen, he's not nurturing this world's standards of adventurers. The sort to rely on their Falna to further their strength while perilously learning to fight on the fly by using the underwhelming creatures of the Dungeon.

No, he wants Keyblade Wielders, who're given the right education, preparation and training. They didn't need to be in a rush to dramatically improve at the high risk of death in the dungeon since their enemies won't be limited to simple monster, but the **Heartless.**

Impatience led to too many deaths in the Unions and most of the poor souls were his age at 12. A decent pace was all that he wanted for his students so they could make mistakes under his supervision without fear of getting killed in the dungeon by a brutal monster or losing their heart to a crafty Heartless.

Now was he denying that you can't ever be reckless? Hell no, to this day, he's still willing to go past his limits should the situation ask for it, but he's not going to tolerate reckless growth for strength. Overwhelming strength through stats and numbers won't do you any good against the corrupting might of the Heartless.

Since at the end of the day, it takes a Strong Heart to become a "Keyblade Master" not a high Level. A lesson that he reminds Karen and to a lesser extent Iris.

"B-But Master since you left the Dungeon shouldn't you have already stop by the Guild first?" Karen tilted her head once she saw her teacher sharply turn his head away from her.

A few seconds later, he turned back to face with a smile, yet she questioned why his eyebrow was quirked up, twitching. "I…wanted to take a quick detour and enjoy my time back on the surface before going back. I just happened to come across you guys since the Market area was so close to the Guild."

"…But the Guild is located in the Northwest section of the city."

"Yes."

"And this is the Market Area." Karen pointed at the current street that they're on.

"Yup! See, so you do get where I'm coming from, right!?"

"…Master, the Market Area is located in the far Southwest section of the City." Karen said and blinked as she noticed beads of sweat forming on Michael's brow. Like everyone in the Familia, she was aware of her master's debilitating disability, his horrid sense of direction. At first, Karen doubted the words of their Familia's resident, and incredibly adorable, Chirithy and figured that they were exaggerating.

This disbelief was shattered during her first dive into the dungeon with Michael being her guide. After slaying the first wave of Goblins and Kobolds, she turned around and found that he was gone. Two hours were put into her searching the four upper floors for him while slaying the occasional spawned monster.

There was no trace of him anywhere but once she stepped out the underground deathtrap, she was met by her Master who was mindlessly walking about and even had the "gall" to scold her for going off on her own. He got so lost that he ended up back at the entrance.

It was there that Karen tossed away any doubts of Michael's lack of direction. Especially after hearing the more extreme cases of this happening when he's venturing in the dungeon alone.

"…"

"…"

Now that he was basically called out by her, the man blankly smiled at the girl. It was actually making her uncomfortable until he walked over, placed a hand on the small of her back, and began to lead her down the street.

"Let's get something to eat, Karen…" His smile looked crooked as he forced those words out.

"O-Okay, I'll look forward to it. Thank you." She decided to push any further as they walked past the Ganesha familia adventurers, down the road. Karen knew that her social skills were lacking but even she was aware enough to know that there just some buttons you don't press.

…She didn't even have the courage to tell her Master that he was directing them in the opposite direction of the guild.

…

"Here you are, sir! Two Jagamarukun, one plain and the other topped with Azuki cream!" Grabbing the two fried potatoes (yes, two years later of living here or not, he refuses to call them that ridiculous name), Michael placed the total payment of 160 valis into the street vendor's hands, and made his way to Karen, who dutifully stood where he left.

He sighed, sometimes she can be a little too serious, which makes it hard for her to interact with others. And by interact, he meant hold an actual conversation that's leisurely with folks outside of the Familia that didn't revolve around important matters. They were just a couple of blocks from reaching the Guild.

It sure was troublesome that some kids were playing a practical joke by messing with all of the city's street/direction signs in such a coordinated fashion. It got so bad that it took them an hour to reach this point when it would normally take 15 to 20 minutes at most.

Well, normally for the average person like Karen, who subtly led Michael there without being too blatant about his incorrect directions.

"Here you go." He handed her the azuki cream topped fried potato and began making his way to the Guild with her.

"Fhanck Fwu…" Holding the snack up to her mouth with both her hands, she didn't even hesitate to start gobbling down on it.

He reached out and patted her head, chuckling lightly. "Of course. Now…would you mind telling me why you're working too early on patrols?"

The sound of teeth gnashing on crispy fried potato stopped.

"This wasn't happening before I left for the mission. You're punctual but not so overly punctual as you were before you joined. You broke that habit and now you're back to doing it again by waking up way too early before you can effectively rest, and now for some reason, you're starving yourself by not having breakfast before leaving." He said.

"You love food. You even have some internal clock in you that tells you when to appear at home for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

"…Also, Brunch…"

"See? So why are you going out on patrol so early before you can get some food in ya? An empty stomach leads to a light head, which make you easy prey for the Heartless." Michael worriedly asked.

"…"

"Karen?"

"…I didn't know what to do."

"Hm?" He blinked as the pair stopped in the middle of the road. The girl gazed at her Jagamarukun, but it was obvious that her thoughts lie elsewhere.

"In the mornings, whenever Cranel-san and I ate breakfast together, I don't know how to approach him. And when he does approach me, he always gets scared away…" Karen hunched over, her eyes looking saddened.

"Oh. _Oooh…_ "

Ah, so that was the problem. Well, its not like he didn't expect that to happen, it was a bit of trial and error when she tried to interact with him and Iris when she first joined the Hestia Familia, but they were able to understand and adjust to Karen's introverted tendencies. They were able to give her some space and gradually ease themselves into her comfort zone for six months.

The same could not be said for Bell, the newest addition to the Familia. Now it was Karen's turn to be one of the seniors that helped the newer members feel welcome. The prospect was quite exciting to her that he chuckled at the cute memory of her excitement when hearing the news (sure, her expression was a bit unexpressive but the glow of elation in her eyes with her gaping mouth spoke a thousand words).

Except there was a glaring contradiction that was overlooked: Karen needed to adjust to Bell while making him, whose still in the dark about her tendencies, adjust to her.

Whenever the boy tried to talk with her, she would be too wound up with coming up with a response that she'd just remain silent. For any who didn't know how to read her beyond her stoic expression, they would just assume that she was simply ignoring them.

Sometimes during dinner, whenever Bell tried to sit close to her at the table and Karen being the awkward girl that she was would move a seat away from him for some space and comfort.

Not to mention the fact that she tends to have that serious look when in extreme thought when she's overwhelmed with so much anxiety that she unknowingly scares the boy.

And yes, there was the first sword training session that he put the two through. It was supposed to be a session to see the extent of Bell's swordsmanship and show him what he has to work towards through seeing it firsthand through Karen. The girl was positively ecstatic to play her role as his senior during time and mumbled all the different ways that she could critique his skills and relate to him since she too had to suffer through training under her Master.

Sad to say that she was a little to excited and hit the body so hard that he ended up catatonic for the rest of the day. The boy's first dungeon dive was supposed to be that day too and he was very dispirited the next day because of it, which in turn made Karen dispirited.

Things have been awkward between them ever since, and him, Hestia and Iris have been dealing with the fallout.

"If that's it then its natural to feel this way." He shrugged.

"…Really?" She asked.

"Of course." Its only been four weeks since Bell had joined them, so he did sort of expect that they weren't going to be the best of friends yet. "These things take time and your still certainly wracking your brain to figure out how forge a friendship, yes?" A nod of the raven head of hair had him smiling. "See, there ya go. You're trying and that's the best thing anyone hoping to make friends could ask for."

Honestly, whenever he looked at Karen and her problems, he was reminded of Skuld…

Crap don't get depressed and continue to form coherent thoughts, Michael thought.

Now Skuld wasn't as awkward as Karen, the girl's problem was that she was a different shade of shyness than Karen. She was more proactive since she searched for other Keyblade wielders to form a Party and make friends. Her problem was that she lacked the charisma to ever convince the others to join her. She was either unseen or unheard.

It actually took him and Ephemer to take the first step in befriending, and once we did, she became more outgoing and vocal, no, that's not giving her enough credit, she was always that way and just needed some friends to bring it out of her. He smiled at the memory of her standing up to Master Aced of all people after the Foreteller had beaten black and blue in front of the other Keyblade Wielders as an example.

Seeing a five foot eight seventeen-year-old girl stand up to a six foot three Keyblade Master really did wonders for his confidence by using her as an inspiration to have faith in himself and end the Keyblade War.

Too bad all that faith rewarded him was the utter despair of acknowledging that he couldn't save a single life that day, and that he alone could not change the damning strings of fate that consumed the aftermath of the World in Darkness.

…

Anyways!

"Anyways! You make a mistake and you learn from it. Every aspiring keyblade wielder takes that trait of adaptation and become better for it. Not through just strength alone, but also their Heart." He reverently placed his hand over his chest.

"My Heart…" Karen glanced at the man and copied by placing her hand over her chest.

"Once you finally establish that connection with Bell, your Heart will be the first thing that tells you. So just keep going, okay?" He comfortingly placed a hand on Karen's shoulder and warmly smiled, a smile that brought a bit of blush onto her face.

"O-Okay."

"Remember, Karen trust yourself and you'll be just fine." Placing his hand over his chest again, he recanted the seven words that every keyblade wielder took solace in. "May your Heart be your Guiding Key."

"M-May my Heart be my Guiding Key…" She repeated, used to words but looking as though she had finally gotten better grasp on their meaning.

"Yeah." He nodded before looking up into the sky contemplatively and commenting. "However, you might have your job cut out for you since you skipping breakfast might have Bell believe that your avoiding him out of some malice."

"E-Eh? B-But I just didn't want to scare him…"

"Yeah, sorry, Karen but unspoken intentions make the imagination run wild." He bitterly chuckled at the utter look of disbelief on the girl's face. "Good luck…"

"…"

"Who knows maybe it isn't that bad…"

"…"

"…Well, at least you don't have to feel embarrassed about just making us a bit lost today on our way here." Okay, that might have been a poor choice of words on his part since she was now angrily pouting at him.

This would have been the perfect chance to relish and tease the usually stoic girl but the kicks that his shin were receiving were actually started to hurt.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Okay, I'm sorry, its not that bad!" He mostly laughed than cry in pain. Karen must have noticed this since her kicks became harder.

_'Ah…never change Karen, never change.' He happily thought._

***Gaaaaaaaaaaaze~!***

His eyes narrowed for a split second before exhaustedly sighed and put on a tired smile as he felt a pair of eyes gaze directly at him.

_'But I wish sometimes that others would change a bit…'_

"Master…?" Karen stopped her kicking as she must have felt it too, well, she felt the some of it since the heated gaze boring through him was so intense that it actually put off. It was happening again, she thought.

She looked ahead to the intimidating heights of the Tower of Babel ahead of them and like the many other times that she's been this close to its vicinity, she also felt that same gaze fell upon her.

However, when she had that feeling of being watched, she always felt a chill go up her spine. The feeling though there only for a fraction of a second felt like she was being glanced over like a doll. Its always been a nagging feeling ever since she started going to the dungeon, and the feeling only became more frequent just three months after her Keyblade materialized.

Nonetheless, that eerie feeling that usually got from the direction of the tower was intensified five times over, and she wasn't even the target in its sights. Karen looked over to her Master, who impressively looking unphased by it. It was like something was trying to burn him alive just by looking at him.

If there was one word that she could describe this it would be…

**Spite.**

"…Its nothing Karen, don't pay it any mind." He sighed and looked up at the tower. What came next was a bit of a surprise to her.

Her master was waving at the tower. For the average passerby they would have found this deed to be strange and rudely comment on it before quickly shutting up once they noticed that he was the _Lost Key_ a title when brought up irked, Michael, but he ignored it.

But what happened next had grasped the attention of all the nearby passersby and would even have all the hairs on Karen's body raise up.

***GLAAAAAAAAAAARE!***

The once heated glare that she felt on her master increased tenfold as if the sun was solely beating the entirety of its wrathful rays upon him. At this point the source of said glare no longer cared about being inconspicuous to the many citizens around.

"Well, lets get going, Karen. Its about time that I check in with the Guild and pick up Chi." The nonchalant voice of her Master snapped her out of thought. She quietly agreed and followed after him while still a bit nervous about the heated gaze that only continued to follow them as they made their way to the front door of the Guild's building.

"Erm…?"

"Don't worry, this sort of gaze won't fall onto you or the others. So, loosen up and pay it no mind." He reassured but failed as it didn't line with main concern.

_'Master, I'm more worried about why it's on you…' Karen worriedly thought._

Hand on the doorknob, Michael began to think of something before entering the establishment. Now he couldn't waste his special "Entrance" and falter at the last minute to give Karen something to do, it would just be distasteful.

_'Since its this time of morning, he must already be in Dungeon still be working…' He thought._

So, after giving it some thought, he turned around and handed his untouched Jagamaka-fried potato to her much to her delighted confusion.

"Karen, I want you to do me a favor and meet with Bell in the dungeon."

"E-Eh…" She blinked in confusion at the sudden order.

"It'll be good a way to lessen the distance between you and with you supervising him, his chances of injury will lower." A nice way to kill two birds with one stone. Sadly, the uncomfortable look in her sad eyes did dampen his chipper mood since he understood that it wasn't an instant way to remove the awkward tension around them.

_'Well, perhaps giving her some good news to tell him might work, and I have been thinking about performing **it** for him once I came back…' He shrugged. 'Oh, what the heck, it'll help the both of them, so I guess there's no harm in spoiling the secret a little early.'_

"Also, I want you to give him the news that I've decided that it's time for him to…" He gestured for her to come closer and whispered in her ear.

Karen's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

He gave her a nod.

"A-Are you sure, Master?" She asked, knowing just how selective the man was about choosing his students. She really wanted to befriend and be a good senior for Bell but even she had to hold some doubt if her Master truly found him worthy enough to do the Bequeathal ritual with Bell. She didn't want to run over there, tell him, then later have his spirits crushed if her Master changed his mind.

"Definitely. I had to…give it some time to think it over considering the boy's…aspirations." He still couldn't believe that night when they met, when the boy confided in him about his dream to be a Hero who wanted to save a damsel from the Dungeon and get a harem.

Such a mentality was daunting to hear though not uncommon considering the plight of distasteful adventurers that he's had the misfortune of encountering in the city. Someone with a such a dream would've been the last person that he would have wanted to bequeath a keyblade, heck, to even consider joining the Familia.

The only thing that swayed Michael from not offering the chance to join their Familia and consider him a possible pupil was due to his selfless deeds while saving one of Maria's orphaned wards from a swarm of heartless, his staggering innocence that could be compared to the countless new youths joining the Unions (partially including him too), and the odd occurrence when he first met the boy after saving his and Fina's lives.

The boy cried.

And for some reason, he cried too once he locked eyes with the boy's red orbs through the visor of his helmet. Neither knew why that was but the feeling was so sudden and overwhelming that the sensation went away as just fast as it had came.

Something resonated within his Heart as if it sang for joy. It was strange, it felt as though he was meeting an old friend that he hasn't seen in years, yet what stood before him was a frightened stranger, who protected a just as equally frightened Chienthrope child. It was a contradiction.

He's already crossed the barriers of this world and experienced the surprising existence of the Lanes Between and the countless worlds their roads led to. One of the undeniable facts that he's gathered during his new life…the World was no longer what it once was and that the chances of any of his friends, Ephemer and Skuld, were no longer among them.

So that's why that strange feeling compelled 45% of his decision to extend the offer to the boy after he despondently revealed that all of his requests to join other Familias were shot down.

He wanted to wrap his head around things and figure it out because…the experience from that moment brought him a form of joy that this world of adventurers, gods, and dungeons could never replicate.

Genuine Nostalgia.

Still the boy's imposed dream (he refuses to believe that a kid as innocent as and young as Bell actually grew up on his own to comprehend what a harem was like) was a work in progress. A work in progress that he'll have to snuff out once he officially learns from his as Keyblade Apprentice beyond the basic swordsmanship practices and Heartless studies that he's been recently providing to him.

"But…I think he's been good enough to earn the privilege." He smiled and from the way Karen's lips crooked up, he found that she did too. "Good, give him the news just like that." He pulled his lips into a bigger smile. "Even if the situation is tense and awkward, as long as you can keep smiling then things can't seem all that bad, right?"

"Right!" Karen enthusiastically nodded.

"Good." He patted her head then nudged her in the direction of the tower. "Now get outta here."

"Okay!" Karen began to back away to the road before stopping as he gave focused on the two fried potatoes occupying her hands.

"U-Um, Master don't you want your Jagamarukun?"

Without turning away from the closed door, Michael playfully waved her off. "I already had my fill of rations when I came up to the surface so just have mine and fill yourself up. Now get!"

Another smile graced Karen's delicate features as she nodded and trotted off towards to dungeon. Under breath, she spoke a silent "Thank you" to voice her gratitude for the food and the advice. Hearing footsteps blend in with the noise of the busy street, Michael chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, tonight's going to be eventful when I go home…" He said and thought back about his decision with Bell. He was now adamant to stick through with it since that odd feeling wasn't the only thing that made him consider the boy.

He's seen adventurers try and more than usually fail to stand up to the Heartless, but some kid with no background with any arms or martial training risked his life and Heart to save a little girl with no thoughts of compensation.

That's courage and he'd be a fool not to recognize it.

Heck, right now the kid was probably being brave in dungeon as he spoke.

* * *

"UROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The combined roar and girlish screaming of a Minotaur and a running adventurer bounced off the walls of the Dungeon's fifth floor.

* * *

"Now then. Time to check in." Taking a deep breath, he took one step back and swung his leg back before giving the door in front of him a kick strong enough to almost kick it off it's hinges and revealed the many personnel in the building gluing their eyes on him, the man ruining the ordered peace of their workplace.

Though there was one exception of one of the employees in the form of a red-headed Werewolf shooting him a furious glare with her amber eyes. Her teeth angrily gnashed together as the current adventurer at her desk back away from her lest they get burned by the blistering aura that she emitted.

Though this did little to stop Michael as he uproariously shot his hands in the air and proudly looked to Guild's clean ceilings.

"ROOOSE! I LIIIIIIIIIVE!"

"ASSHOLE! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU STOP DOING THIS!? YOUR FUCKING SCREAMING IS MESSING WITH ALL OF OUR PRODUCTIVITY!" Hypocritically shouted the Werewolf as right beside her station was an annoyed brown-haired Half-Elf, who just so happened to slip on a couple of noise cancelling earmuffs once the door slammed open.

All she could was shake her head at the new ritual that Guild has had to face these following past two years.

Joining her with the exasperated head shaking was a familiar and adorable cat spirit that has been more less been a common sight in the vicinity, no longer garnering odd looks and any hostilities from visiting adventurers save for the occasional newbie here or there. But those instances were simply them picking them up into an unwanted cuddle without their permission.

"Oh, boy…here we go again." The Spirit Chirithy tiredly shook their head as they finished placing a stack of organized papers on the Werewolf's desk.

Seeing his groaning friend beside the furious Werewolf Guild Consultant, Michael breathed in and shouted. "CHI! I'M! BAAACK!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UUUP!"

"*SIIIIIIIIIGH!*" Chi facepalmed and tiredly shook his head as the Werewolf Guild receptionist continued to curse out the man for his strange outburst while being subtly aware of the woman's slightly tinged red cheeks.

"For Pete's sake get a room you two…"

* * *

**[Author Notes]: It was too long for the site's Chapter Notes**

**Okay that took too long to type! But I hope that you guys enjoyed the Chapter. I had to fit in a lot of context, but I hoped that it was at least entertaining for everyone instead of being a slog of read that would make it seem like boring exposition.**

**Now I want to clarify a few things. The whole handsome thing with Michael. Well, I didn't do a good job of conveying it in the prologue with his interaction with Hestia, but be aware that Michael is a Square Enix Character, he's not a natural inhabitant of the Danmachi World and we all know how Square Enix has its fair share of handsome pretty boys *COUGH!* Cloud, Squall and Noctis *COUGH!* *COUGH!*. So, he's basically unaware of why some people (including Hestia) are flustered around him.**

**In terms of handsomeness he's about 6/10. That's below the likes of Sephiroth, Cloud and other high tier handsome guys that some fangirls probably made out there. So, yeah, expect that to be a reoccurring thing sometimes.**

**Karen Morris, now I basically had to create more context for her character since the Wiki doesn't give much for her which is to be expected since she was made for a Mobile game. Her wanted relationship with Bell is to be an Older Sister to him but due to her stoic and awkward personality, it's a struggle. Plus, yes, I know how a bit alike she is to Ais, and you'll be thrilled to know what the relationship between these two characters in this story will be like.**

**Moving on to another part that was addressed, yes, the Miach Familia is doing pretty well and that's because they're allies with the Hestia Familia, who has someone that can Synthesize the rare materials dropped by the Heartless that can only be released with the Keyblade. With that, he was able to give them recipes and teach them the intricacies of the crafting methods of the Moogles. With the recipes taught centered around potions and ethers, they were able to make varied potions and medicines that earned them substantial fame.**

**The whole thing with the top of the Tower of Babel and the fiery glare that Michael was receiving will be further delved into later on, but just know that during the two year timeskip that he's had a very unpleasant chat with a certain someone and that, well, these words would best describe that certain someone's mood: "Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned".**

**Also, yes, "Level 3" is Michael's public Level. Remember, both his and Iris' status' are a spoiler to how the lifestyle of a Keyblade Wielder affect the world of Danmachi's Leveling system. Now don't get the idea that its going to be overblown like Level 75 or 500. I follow the belief that everyone, who gets a Falna starts off with all stats at I0.**

**Except for Michael, the status is more of a bonus for his skills since he's an offworlder, which means that Danmachi's world's laws don't completely affect him to a point. Now I want you guys to remember this and keep it in mind because this will be the cause for any newborn occurrences down the line.**

**Now, I want to go over how a character from the Danmachi world is changed once they gain a keyblade. I've been wracking my head over how I'm going to mesh the Falna system with the abilities and magicks that the Keyblade provide. The biggest problem that I had was the magic limit of 2 or 3 slots that the characters were limited too, and well, I figured out a way to explain it along with explain how non-keyblade wielders can learn the typical KH spells through direct training. But I'll go over that next time.**

**As for the whole mentioned Self-taken Mark of Mastery Exam that Michael did, well, I took inspiration from the TMNT 2012 cartoon's episode "Vision Quest" and so basically, Michael traversed the Monster and Heartless filled dungeon while either hallucinating or meeting the ghosts of the Foretellers who give him Inner-darkness provoking ordeals that test the strength of his Heart. This actually holds some impact in the story since it was during the Two-year time skip so later down the road, I might just create a short story detailing his experiences and the people that he came across doing it.**

**P.S.- Yes, Karen's keyblade is Divewing, it's one of my favorite designed keyblades and I found that it would suit her.**

* * *

**Now, I feel as though that I should be patient about this, but I don't really have a good opportunity down the road to reveal naturally so I'll just put up Karen's recent Status then be on my way.**

* * *

**_Karen Morris_ **

** Level 1  
** **Strength: S927  
Defense: D610  
Dexterity: A850  
Agility: A838  
Magic: C627**

**Skill**

**[Awakening of the Blessed Key]: Unlocks the user's true potential, which is only found within them should they possess a strong "Heart".**

**[Noblesse Oblige]: Increases the user's parameters of strength and agility when directly engaging an opponent in combat.**

**Magic**

**Blizzard- First-Tier Ice Magic**

**Fire- First-Tier Fire Magic**

* * *

**Well, that's all I wanted to write for today, I hope that you all enjoy yourselves and have a lovely day!**

* * *

**I'm Out so Peace Out!**


	5. Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia (3)

**Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia (3)**

* * *

"UROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!"

The ground on the fifth floors of the deadly Dungeon shook from the quaking stomps by the pair of cloven feet stampeding the hulking form a rampaging Minotaur after its target, a girlishly shrieking 14-year-old boy. Taking glances past his shoulders, he did his very best not to look the Minotaur in its bloody red eyes and looked past their current area to find the pathways behind them were completely empty.

Normally, the sanest reaction to noticing that you're effectively alone with a higher leveled hulking murder machine of a monster would be to feel absolute dread. However, that wasn't the case for the boy since for a split second, he oddly gave a sigh of…relief? The feeling didn't linger however as he released another terrified shriek as one of the Minotaur's huge meaty hands would have nearly batted his head off of his shoulders if he didn't duck his head in time.

Now…the questions that would be going through so many minds (his included) witnessing/experiencing this would be: Why was he on the fifth floor? Why was there a Level 2 Monster chasing him on the Upper levels? And how come he's screaming his lungs out like a little girl?

All the answers for those first two questions will be answered in due time while the last question could just be justified by the dungeon's echoing environment pitching his screams to higher octaves. Yes, it was exactly that, Bell desperately thought, hoping to convince even himself.

No, to address the big old bull monster chasing him through the halls and rooms of the dungeon's fifth floor, lets retread a couple of hours before all of the crying, screaming, and destruction took place.

Today had started off just as well as the other past mornings. He left home with a full stomach, he had remembered to keep longsword clean last night, and he's been making substantial progress in the dungeon's four upper floors. In total, he's slain about 25 goblins and 12 kobolds. Some of the beginning encounters were just simple single targets, but his luck did start to get a bit crummy when the dungeon chose a distasteful time to spawn groups of the offending monsters in front of him or behind him.

He panicked the one time that a goblin had spawned on top of him from a wall closer to the ceiling while he was just carefully walking by it. Thankfully, he was now strong enough in status to overpower the little devil with a swift shoulder throw and his blade in its gut. Funny, if this were his first week in the dungeon, he would have died of a heart attack at the startling surprise, but now he felt confident to be walking the upper floors.

That's not to say that he wasn't cautious. He's been warned countless times by his Guild Advisor to always be alert because in the Dungeon _anything_ could happen. Though he disliked it when she told him cautionary tales of unfortunate beginners (like the usual adventurer, who was verging on Leveling Up to Level 2, but met his fate at the filthy hands of legion of monsters spawning from the walls, a Monster Party), but heeded them or else he'd end up as just another statistic like those before him.

When he had first entered the dungeon under the Captain and Iris' supervision, he was pretty overwhelmed by the eerie atmosphere that it had. He also remembered panicking when he encountered his first real monster lunging at him to kill. A futile effort since it along with the many other monsters were dispatched by the Captain and Vice-Captain of his Familia, but still, fear of looking into the monster's feral red eyes had struck him so deep. The Heartless that he had encountered before joining might have been monsters of blackened horror, but when faced with the dungeon's murderous beasts, he was shaken by their sheer bloodlust to end him, no, to end anything that held any humanity.

Heartless or Monster, they both came with their own shades of terror and horror.

During his first visit, he didn't really do any fighting and was simply there to be given the run down on how the dungeon operated and observe them since he'd be doing it himself soon enough. Why _soon_? Well because matters of his preparation to face the dungeon were still incomplete.

No one in his Familia wanted him to explore the dreaded underground dungeon so blindly without the proper adventurer education, equipment, skills, and mindset. Now the education could easily be provided by the Guild through his new advisor, but the rest would have to be provided by his Familia, who gladly took their time to organically walk him through the motions.

This only made him more grateful for his Goddess and new family since he was not only provided his very first weapon, the longsword (the Captain's hand-me down) from them, but also lessons in learning how to wield it without going into the dungeon to learn based on solely experience. The training was harsh and a bit odd, but each with each passing lesson, he'd learn something new, be taken to the dungeon to be watched over by one of his seniors and test it out through real combat against goblins and kobolds.

Now the monsters weren't pushover the first and second week, but he found them to be less intimidating to face than his Captain, and especially Karen (though he'd never admit that lest he make the girl despise him even more). Now there were a few close calls here and there, but he's gotten some considerable experience out of the back to back sword training and dungeon diving routine.

It wasn't until Wednesday on the second week when his Captain had deemed him ready enough to at least handle going into the dungeon alone and gave him the choice to try going solo for a bit. The prospect of going by himself was frankly scary, but he willed himself to at least try braving the dungeon by cheering himself up that he'd might even rescue a girl if he was lucky enough.

He wasn't, though he at least proved to himself that he could handle the Dungeon's upper floors.

Primarily that filled him with confidence to handle the dungeon on his own (with a few tense awkward assistances from Karen when they made a party at first), but after a while, all of that confidence soon festered into complacency. His stats' growth have been fine and even praised by his Goddess, but he still couldn't shake off the sense of inadequacy around his Captain and the other two in the Familia.

Plus, his four weeks in dungeon have yielded him no results in finding a damsel to save!

Everything was beginning to feel like a chore to him; slay the monster, carve out the magic crystal, rinse and repeat. Do that every time until you feel exhausted or lack the incentive to continue. This type of routine did change his rose-tinted glasses of how the wonderous and dangerous life of an adventurer to a dreary gray since at this point his ventures have begun to feel like a job than an actual adventure.

_"Remember, Bell, adventurers mustn't go on adventures!"_

The reprimanding words of his advisor, Eina Tulle rang through his head. He could never get them out of his head since she's beaten it into him ever since he became her responsibility to teach and guide him. That contradictory phrase meant for adventurers to not explore the dungeon with reckless abandon otherwise, they'd die before their "supposed" adventure could even begin.

Normally, Bell would heed these words whenever the stray thought of delving deeper into the dungeon crossed him mind, but as of recently, the phrase no longer warded him from considering to go beyond the fourth floor. The ugly feeling of stagnation was starting to take hold of him, he needed to do something otherwise, he'll feel like he's in a rut with his progress.

His monetary contributions to the Familia's ledgers were miniscule.

The gap in power between him and his seniors (Karen, Iris and the Captain) were still understandably vast, but also still very frustrating.

And to top it all off, he still hasn't found a damsel to save yet!

Most of the issue with these ruts was the fact that he also had to consider fleeing most of the time when things got too hairy or chaotic. How chaotic you might ask? Well, so chaotic that most of his dives into the dungeon leave him with no choice but to abandon 35% or more of his earnings in magic stones, item drops, or excelia whenever a "Turf War" erupts.

A Turf War is a conflict between two opposing sides that regularly enter skirmishes within the dungeon. It wasn't conflict between two parties of adventurers nor was it the dungeon spontaneously spawning two groups of different monsters to kill each other. No, these turf wars have spiked constantly in different locations around the dungeon these past few years along with the emergence of a new threat.

The **Heartless.**

Once those vile black monsters started harassing Orario, the public assumed for the worse that they would be just another threat to put up with along with the dungeon. Except, humanity wasn't the only one who couldn't stand the vile, dark abominations. Any sighting of a Heartless found within the depths of the dungeon would be accompanied by the living dungeon spawning Monster Parties right off the bat to fend off the creatures. For such a drastic response from the murderish hellscape that was the Dungeon, it really informed any spelunking Adventurers how threatening the creatures of darkness were.

Any signs of a Turf War were to be avoided unless the adventurers in questions could handle a Monster Party of Monsters and Heartless battling each other. Bell had borne witness to one of these during his first dungeon visit, and after the Captain and Iris had disposed of both the numerous brawling monsters and Heartless, he decided to steer clear of them. Sure, he wanted to really improve himself, but he knew when to pick his fights.

So, whenever he's in the middle of picking up magic stones and drop items from monsters that he's slain and a group of Shadow heartless pop up around him along with the violent cracking of the dungeon walls, he'll shamelessly take off running. Not even daring to care about the loot that he drops since not even he could hope to slay both types of creatures at once on his own.

A monster party with manageable numbers? Sure, he can handle it. A stray Heartless (Shadows) that he had to slay after getting backed into a corner despite the difficulty when doing so with his weapon? Pssh, he was more than confident to slay the little buggers. But he wasn't going to test his luck with fighting both sides the way that he was.

In comparison, going down to the fifth floor was less terrifying than getting mixed up in the dungeon's beef with the Heartless. Though this did leave him and a few other unlucky adventurers a tad empty handed whenever they had to cut their losses and flee.

So, yeah, forgoing Eina's warnings, he continued his downward exploration to the dungeon's next floor. He had learned from Eina what to naturally expect from the floor but remained wary since learning was vastly different to actually experiencing the changes to the floor's terrain, monsters and dungeon activity. That's not even touching the activity of the Heartless where there have been reports that the deeper you go into the dungeon, the more likely you'll run into larger and stronger swarms of them.

The reasoning behind this confused Bell since the Heartless are an independent factor in the Dungeon and wouldn't exactly line with the Monster difficulties spawned on different floors. However, his Captain answered his query by elaborating on the nature of the Heartless as they were beings who lusted for the darkness found in Hearts. The Dungeon was a place that naturally rejected humanity and pushed out as many monsters as it could to exterminate the intruders, which are renowned as Adventurers.

His Captain further emphasized the common tragedies that's sadly bound to happen in the godforsaken place: Death, Betrayal, Greed, Rage, Hopelessness, Apathy, Depression. These emotions and many more lead one's heart to darkness, and the man had said that darkness in one's heart is natural and shouldn't be rejected, but the Heartless will be lured by it and seek it out to eventually devour the recipient's heart.

The negatives emotions of an adventurer are bound to exponentially grow with each new floor and with that more Heartless will appear. The more that appear, the more that new types are bound to show up and create more havoc. With new types of Heartless wrecking everything, the Dungeon will be forced to spawn more stronger monsters to combat them. Then with new Monsters pushing/wiping them out, the Heartless will only further their emergences on the lower floors with stronger Heartless types to push back the dungeon and devour the hearts of struggling higher leveled adventurers.

His captain had described it as a vicious cycle. The dungeon will continue to push back the Heartless and the Heartless will restlessly continue their advance in the dungeon. To the boy it felt like the fabled dungeon of death and destruction was only amplified by the appearance of the Heartless.

Then Bell had asked his Captain another question by noticing the odd use of the word "advance" in the man's explanation: _"What are the Heartless exactly looking for by delving deeper into the dungeon?"_

The only answer he got was inconceivable mumbles with the only words that he could pick out were "Since it's shown signs of life…" and "Its disdain for humanity aside it could be fully developed enough to have a…" but before his Captain could continue, he immediately pushed Bell to study one of the many textbooks that he had written on the Heartless' behavior and activity in the dungeon.

He honestly liked that he was asking questions but was disgruntled that he wasn't doing enough research on his own with all the provided resources (books and quizzes) given to him. So, basically, he wanted him to be less dependent on getting answers from him and learn to get them himself.

Him going through the fifth floor was an exemplary way of looking for answers on what to expect from it too, so it could definitely justify for disobeying the warnings of his advisor. Yep, there was no way that he should feel bad for this…(*Guilt rising*)

The floor itself was a nice change from the first four floor's drab light blue walls that he's gotten to grow sick of the following past four weeks. The fifth floor's interior was a light shade of green with a noticeably different structure than the floors before it. The monsters that appeared were certainly a bit stronger than the one's on the upper floor, but he's only decided to fight a few lest something unexpected reared its ugly head in the form of a Heartless.

He was in new territory, so he couldn't just run about like the upper four floors, he needed to be vigilant. Nonetheless, even though he's essentially on a new floor with loads of things waiting to kill him, he still couldn't shake the sense of excitement welling up within his chest. The sensation of going off into the unknown was such breath of fresh air. Was this what it normally felt for heroes and explorers to brave the unknown? He bitterly laughed to himself about how Eina would discourage such a thought, but just the rush of it all made it so hard to resist.

All of this new euphoria that crashed against Bell was anticlimactically cut off when a pack of unruly adventurers nearly trampled him by their panicked running. Shaking his head after the violent tumble, Bell regained his bearings and tried loudly asking the adventurers why they were fleeing. The only response that he received from the group steadily disappearing down the halls of the dungeon were to simply "Get the fuck out of here while he still could".

There was one more disgruntled response that sounded like it wasn't meant for him as one of them passively asked where some little runt was but was flagged down by who seemed to be the leader of the party to just forget about them and worry about preserving their own more _important_ lives.

Patting the dirt off his pants as he stood, Bell quirked a worried eyebrow in the direction that they retreated too. Just what was it that scared a whole party of adventurers? On the upper floors its less likely for groups to really get overwhelmed especially so close to the upper four floors.

Horrified shrieking followed by the murderous roar of some unholy beast echoed throughout the dungeon halls. Ask and you shall receive, he gulped as he could feel the ground beneath him lightly tremor despite how far the source's roaring was. In fact, he's not fully sure if the ground was tremoring or if its just him since he was quite literally shaking from the violent roar. Connecting the dots, he figured that whatever pushed those adventurers to run was probably down the path ahead of him.

Now the obvious thing to do at that point was to get the heck out of there. Good thing his legs were already carrying him with all the speed that his impressive Agility stats provided for him; too bad that it was carrying him in the _exact_ direction of the bestial roar.

Who was it that screamed? What made whoever it was scream? Why exactly was he going to see what had a whole party of Adventurers turn tail and run!?

The only sane thing that he was doing at this point was let these thoughts flood his mind. As he crossed the end of the hallway leading into another cavernous room of the dungeon, the side of his vision picked up something BIG. He had to silence the growing fearful yelp creeping up his throat as he put every fiber of his being to leap back into the hallway from where he came. His movements were stiff, and he made sure not to fall over lest it attracted **_its_** attention.

Back to the wall of the hallway, he stiffly pressed himself against it as he took silent, heavy breaths to calm his beating heart. What he saw should have been an impossibility, no, a rarity up on the upper floors.

The unrestrained sounds of exhaling breath filled the air as what stood meters tall just past corner of the hallway that he hid in was a hulking brown furred Minotaur! A monster that at best should be on the Middle floors.

He gulped as sweat poured from every pore on his body from just being so close in range to a Level 2 Monster that could pop his Level 1 head like a balloon. All of his senses were telling him to RUN AWAY, something he's unthinkably willing to do, but just before he could take that first step to just bolt out of the dungeon in a vain attempt to pass up the adventurers that had a head start on him…

"H-Help…"

***ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!***

What followed a plea for help was the Minotaur's deafening roar.

…When he backed up into the hallway, he never got a good look at anything besides the massive muscle-bound bull monster that stood in the room. He hadn't considered the forethought to examine the room that they were in, in its entirety because the Level 2 monster aside, he had found the source of the roar, but not the scream.

Peeking past the corner of the hallway, his eyes widened and found on their bum was a crying and quivering little werewolf child clutching the remains of a massive backpack with its contents strewn all over the dungeon floor. The white and red hood that they wore obscured most of their facial features, but he could make out their silver hair and the iconic canine ears that topped their heads.

Their screams bounced off the walls with the resulting Minotaur's roar creating a bone chilling staccato of misery and fear. They were going to die, the minotaur was slowly encroaching on its prey, who was too frightened to even consider fleeing. With such an easy target, it didn't even have to exert much of its strength; just a swing of its hand and could lop the head of the poor werewolf off their shoulders.

_That could've been me, he thought._

Bell gulped as he thought back to the common phrase that most adventurers heeded. In the dungeon, _anything_ could happen. No matter the Level, all lives that enter the dungeon were equally left as forfeit to the horrors that it wrought.

Every fiber in Bell was telling him to run away! So far, his _adventure_ to the fifth floor has gone so well, he didn't meet a gruesome fate, and he's been lucky enough not to run into Minotaur (unlike the poor werewolf in front of him). He still had a chance to run away and return back to the safety of his new home.

His goddess would be there welcome him back with same motherly warmth that he's never willing to ever forget; Iris would be giving a harsh scolding after he spilled the beans about his little adventure but would also prepare a hearty meal and a reassuring pat on the head to relieve him of the stress of nearly perishing with that sisterly smile of hers; Karen…he honestly didn't know how she'd react, but he hopes that if possible, she would look just as concerned as everyone else.

Above all, the Captain…he wouldn't know how the man would react to his actions. The best thing that he could envision from the man that saved his life and inspired him to be a hero just like was relief. Relief and…disappointment…?

No, the feeling disappointment at Bell was coming from himself because while he's been standing here envisioning those who would be saddened if he died, he was denying the werewolf about to be pounded into a bloody mulch the same right by solely focusing on himself. He couldn't be unfair and selfishly say that he was the only one to have people to return to; people, who would be devastated by his death.

The werewolf has just as much a right to live as he did and return home to their Familia too. But that left Bell at a crossroads. He knew that he couldn't beat the Minotaur, his training might have prepared him for the upper floors, but he was no way near capable enough to handle a monster that give even Level 2s a run for their money.

Stumped between either running or facing an untimely death at the hands of the beast, Bell's conscience and his will to live raged on within his psyche. Reason and logic were close to winning out as his subconscious kept yelling at him to flee until…

He looked past the corner of the hallway again for the second time, and through some weird work of fate, the eyes of the whimpering Werewolf met his own and with their face now viewable in his direction, he was able to discern their soft features and identify them as a girl.

Now with this reveal, that would have naturally led Bell to try and heroically rescue the girl like one of the fairytales that his grandfather read to him. But, no, that was the last thing on his mind when their eyes met. Those gold orbs of hers were glossy and died with sheer fear. Just from that single look alone, he translated the single word that she's been desperately screaming. A word that besides his own, reached no other ears.

A word that just from that look alone was a pure desperate plead.

_HELP_

…

Everything was blur. He felt a sense of déjà vu that he likened to the night where he helped that Chienthrope girl from being devoured by the Heartless. Any sense of self preservation was flushed out of him as only one thing remained on his mind. Helping someone.

With a cracked roar (curse you puberty!) that received the attention of the Minotaur and a startled, surprised look from the small Werewolf, he took off his pack containing all of the magic stones that he accrued for the day, slung the strap into hand, swung his arm back, and with all his strength nailed it into the eye of the blood thirsty Minotaur.

He in fact wasn't aiming for the eye but got very lucky. Trouble was his luck never ran for long since now the Minotaur was charging after him, outraged from the pain that its semi-damaged eye received. Even with the monster on his tail, his sense of self preservation was still out of his system as he roared for the now gaping mouthed Werewolf to run while she still could.

He heard her scream something to him, but he couldn't exactly pick out what she was saying based on account to the fact that a FREAKING MINOTAUR WAS CHASING HIM!

It was at that moment that Bell realized the severity of the situation and focused on escaping the powerful clutches of the Bull-headed monster tearing apart the dungeon just to get to him. If there was one thing that Bell naturally prided himself it had to be his AGILITY stat as it was the only thing that kept him from being massive puddle of blood, broken bones and sundered flesh on the ground.

The chase had been going for…heck, he didn't at this point since he's putting his all into **surviving.**

Which brings everything back to the present…

***ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!***

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The boy screamed an octave higher that almost sounded effeminate. Coughing, he quickly covers this up and purposely screams a bit deeper in hopes that anyone (hopefully no one) would hear his girlish screams.

_'I can't shake it off!' He panicked and gasped as a shadow formed above him._

***SLAAAAAAM!***

If he were any slower with that sidestep, he'd have been nailed into the floor by the Minotaur's massive meaty hands. His Agility might give him a small edge in fleeing but not even his endurance can keep up with the relentless Minotaur in pursuit of him.

There were even instances to where he could pawn the Monster off on a few Shadow Heartless that inconveniently spawned ahead of him, but even their lesser numbers were powerless under the might of the Minotaur. The shadowy creatures were run over, had their heads crushed in the beast's huge hands, and shoulder checked plus flattened by it.

There was no stopping the beast from averting its attention from the true target of its wrath: him.

That was when he remembered one of Eina's lessons about memorizing the mappings of the dungeon's floors. Yeah, after getting those torturous lessons beaten into him, he's confident to say that he could shake of the Minotaur by losing him at a crossroads. Looking at the hallway formations around him, he deduced that one was coming up as soon as he made a right at this oncoming corner. When he gets out of here, he's never going to whine to the Half-Elf about the endless tides of homework that she assigns to him again.

***Skiiiiiiiid~!***

…

"No…no…no, no, no, nononono!" Sad for him that he misjudged how different it was to navigate the fifth floors in comparison to the upper four floors. He was now at a dead with an expansive wall mocking his futile attempts of escape ahead of him…

***GROOOOOOOOA!***

…and a ravenous Minotaur hellbent on killing him behind him.

Shakily turning back to face the monster, Bell drew his longsword for what was definitely going to be the last time and aimed it at the beast, devoid of any confidence. The monster aggressively took this gesture as a show of defiance and angrily threw its fist at the boy to flatten him.

"Nguh!" Bell flinched, expecting his life to at that moment but opened open to notice that the Minotaur had missed his head by a couple of feet. His legs almost gave up on him, he was that close to dying.

Was it really going to end for him?

His new life after finally getting the guts to leave home after his grandfather passed on?

It was inevitable that he was going to die, but he couldn't help but despair that he was essentially going to sadden everyone, who's been working to get him to the starting line of being a true adventurer.

Sure, he had found solace that he could at least save one life, but he just hated feeling that he wasted everyone's efforts. Here he was about to die a stereotypical death like every adventurer before him just before he could accomplish becoming a real hero.

Again, a conflict bloomed within him, between despair and outrage, he stood still as the Minotaur wound its arm back to attempt a more accurate hit to kill him. The force of wind that the incoming punch exerted blew his white hair back as he blankly looked at his impending doom in frozen fear.

Just what could he possibly do?

_FIGHT!_

"…!" The boy gasped as his body jerked out of the way of the incoming fist, which obliterated part of the wall behind him. Dust and debris gathered in the air as Bell looked at his arms in bewilderment. No, he looked at the blade that hands were gripping that whitened his knuckles.

A force had moved him away from the immediate danger before it had struck him. His body had already locked in place, so he questioned just what exactly moved him. And that voice, if he could even call it that. There was no sound, but he understood the driving words that were spoken(?) so clearly.

Fight.

He looked at the Minotaur angrily shaking its bruised hand from the punch it through, perhaps it had thrown its entire body into the blow, but it still did little to hinder it's rage as its bloody red eyes were still trained on him. He, a kid, who's still a greenhorn Level 1 adventurer; a kid who all intents and purposes was outclassed and was always getting hung with his own emotions to clearly pick a choice or **make** a choice.

Fight.

_"Don't forget…"_

He remembered the guiding voice from his dream that urged him onward…

Fight.

_"I'm afraid of being…indecisive. To not be able to contribute anything or save someone. If I delay myself by always be doubtful or getting worked up about not always picking the best move in a situation, I'm forced to face with the undeniable fact that I'm…weak…"_

One of the three answers that laid bare one of his deepest fear. A needed reminder to kick him into action.

Fight!

Brown boots found themselves with their soles firmly planted to the ground. A gloved hand tightened its gripping on the shaking(?) black bladed longsword. A pair of shoulders visibly tense as red eyes harden and slowly dilate as they begin to glare into the murderous Minotaur's own pair. The air of dread was replaced and filled with heated tension between the boy and the monster.

The heated breaths of the Minotaur escaped the cracks of his teeth like steam as the knuckles to its fists cracked from the strain of its own strength.

Fight!

Dying? Is that really all that he wanted to think about without even trying? His thoughts then soon brought forth a hazy memory from his dream. A dream where he felled a black titan of Heartless, the details were iffy and he wasn't exactly sure how he did it or if it had any bearing on what he could do in reality, but he would never forget that feeling of rage that burned him.

Even if his death is inevitable, he won't let himself die like this. He still had overcome his _indecisiveness,_ get _stronger_ , and above all else become more worthy enough to be with his _Family._

That's why he'll carry this rage with him. Whether it would lead him back to the surface to his family or to his grandfather in the afterlife were irrelevant because right now Bell Cranel was about to turn his back on the well-intentioned warnings of his Guild Advisor.

He was about to go on his **_first_** adventure!

FIGHT! / _"FIGHT!"/ FIGHT!_

A trio of voices shouted in his very psyche. One was his own, the other was the voiceless one and the last one was…the voice from his dream? No, it didn't matter right now because they all merged in purpose and drove him to meet the Level 2 monster head on!

At once both the boy and Minotaur lunged at each other with the boy's blade aimed to lunge into the monster, and the monster's huge fist reeled back to demolish the boy's weaker form.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

***ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!***

His long sword might have held the longer reach, but it wouldn't be able to plunge itself much deeper if he was flattened by the incoming fist before then. So, Bell decided to utilize one of the secret techniques that the Captain urged him to learn diligently. A lesson for a technique that at first made him excited and later puzzled him since apart from the sword training it was rather underwhelming.

The technique known as…

***SWOOOOSH!***

_Dodge Roll._

Just narrowly missing the punch, Bell had managed to not only avoid getting creamed but also getting past the Minotaur, so he no longer had his back to the wall. Now the Minotaur's back to him, and he wasn't going to just let an opportunity like that go untaken.

He had heard that weapons given by the guild for beginners were as useful as toothpicks against Monsters from deeper floors, so it came as no surprise why he was shocked to see that three mighty swings of his long sword left heavy red scarring across the beast's back. Each cut was in no way strong enough to leave a deep cut to draw as much blood, but the damage it still did was still earth moving for the boy.

_'I can actually hurt it?' He thoughts of wonder were interrupted as the Minotaur in an irritant fashion wildly swung his arms back and with its strength alone summoned a pressure of wind that nearly overwhelmed him and threw him back a couple of feet._

Gaining his bearings, he was able to land on his feet, but this momentary lapse of a breather was undercut by the Minotaur already using those few seconds to crouch down, hammer its fists into the ground, lower its head, and aim those long horns of his directly at him.

_'This won't be good…' Bell gulped and staggered back as he noticed veins popping up all over the Minotaur's muscles. 'This definitely won't be good.'_

He didn't need to see anymore signs of an incoming bull rush to know that running was an apt choice to take. His feet carried him as far as he could, but once the entire dungeon around him began to shake along with the fast paced thuds of the beast's footsteps rapidly catching up to him, the hallway they were in was almost coming to an end as a Room lied ahead of him, and the horns of a quickly approaching Minotaur were behind him.

Bell only had a single thought as he was mere seconds away from facing a gruesome death by impalement.

_'Dodge Roll please don't fail me now!'_

He took a _roll_ of faith!

…

…

…

***CRAAAAAAAAAAAASH!***

"Guuuuuuuuuuuah!"

"-!"

"The hell!?"

***THUUUUD!***

The whole world was spinning as Bell limply slid down the wall of the room that the Minotaur had flung him through. His dodge roll had worked to help him avoid getting skewered, but it left him open for one of the Minotaur's arms to barely backhand him into the upcoming room. It took all of the boy's efforts to try and suck in as much oxygen as he could, though the Minotaur had only grazed him, the sheer force still knocked all the air out of his lungs.

His eyes stung not from sweat but blood. He really must have hit head when he was flung at the wall. The echoing clattering of metal reached his ears and he noticed how light his achingly burning chest was.

He hazard a guess that it was his guild issued light armor, it honestly was no surprise to him that it would crumble the under the might of a Level 2 monster, but it do its job because if it weren't for its (low grade) protection, he probably wouldn't be conscious and still breathing at this point.

That just went to show how outclassed he was against the beast. He was still a spritely Level 1 adventurer that just barely (unofficially) reached the fifth floor and that fact was cold hard reality beating him over the head. Still it did nothing to deter him from facing the enemy.

He couldn't run away so fighting was the only option if he wanted to live. Stabbing the tip of his long sword into the ground, he began his shaky ascent back onto his feet while finally earning his gasp of sweet oxygen.

Huh? Are those voices? His mind was still rattled from the hit that he couldn't clearly see two dizzy figures standing in front of him and facing…the Minotaur!

"-is, leave this to me! If you want; go back and make sure that weakling hasn't kicked the bucket yet!"

"…Hm!"

Two voices, one a male while the other was a female. No, if there are more adventurers hanging around then they would surely get harmed like that Werewolf girl! Groaning to himself, he got back up onto his feet and paid no mind to the rapid footsteps approaching him, but he did pause once he felt that a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"…Everything will be okay. Rest. We can handle this." Though the soft words were clearly meant to comfort him, it did little to quell his desire to keep going. A part of him was tempted to just cool his head and glance at the owner of the feminine voice, they spoke in a monotone voice that reminded him of Karen, but he just couldn't leave this matter in the hands of other adventurers.

He'd feel like he'd be forcing a Pass Parade off on them. Sure, he wouldn't have to worry about dying if he just left up to these two, who may or may not have the power to stop the monster, but it was still his responsibility; his **fight.**

A hero is supposed to be someone, who saves the day! Not get themselves saved!

A hero's someone who's very presence brings relief and hope.

The memory of a gallant man dressed armor and wielding a strange blade flashed in his mind and further the lit the burgeoning flame in his heart.

"…Hey…" He heard the monotone voice call out from behind him.

His eyes fell on the Minotaur ahead of him and met its red murderous glare with his own.

Everything hurt but his body still moved on its own towards his foe.

"Oi, weakling! What the fuck are y-!?"

He passed the next figure, who was the man but paid him no mind like the girl before. There was a monster that needed slaying and people who (may or may not) need saving!

Silence. The only thing that came close to breaking were the heated, enraged breaths from the monster in the room.

Bell's sword arm shivered. Was it that same force from before or could it be that it was his nerves? Fear? Anger? Excitement? He didn't know what could be the reason for the sword shaking in his grip but the one thing that mattered to him right now was using to fell the goliath of a monster in front of him.

The Minotaur made the first move with a charge and cocked back fist.

Too fast, he thought as he put every ounce of energy in dodging the blow. He was grateful that the beast over pursued him since its fist narrowly missed him as he side jumped over to its vulnerable side and hacked his blade at its torso.

That made it even angrier than before as it wildly stamped about the swung its horned head right at him. It was too fast! Bending his knees, the Level 1 adventurer leant back and avoided the debilitating blow.

"Guh!" His body strained and forced him to fall flat on his back.

***ROOOOOOOAR!***

"…!" He gasped. Another massive fist was being swung to hammer him into the ground. Kicking his legs up, he pushed himself back on his feet by a backflip and watched as the Minotaur's attack picked up a small cloud of dust hindering its view on him.

Perfect!

Kicking off the ground, Bell charged in with his long sword thrusted out, aiming for the bull's lowered head. If the rest of the body was covered in pure muscle, then the head obviously was the less fortified and most vulnerable part of its body.

This would have worked had it not been for the Minotaur jerking its head to catch the blade with one of its horns. Bell had tightened his grip on his blade as the force and clash of his blade against the thick black horns had weakened the strength of his hand's grip.

The Bull had no trouble claiming better ground with each push of its head forcing the boy to skid back. Bell had panicked when he started to hear the sound of cracking on his blade once the Bull had enough and threw its entire body into sending him flying.

The world once again became a mess of dizzying colors to his eyes (thanks to his bleeding head) as his body found itself violently slamming into the ground…no, wait, why was he falling again?

***THUD!* *CHNK!***

A-Ah, so he actually hit the dungeon's ceiling…good to know…

The joints and muscles of his body creaked louder than before, telling him to stop moving. But he couldn't, he wasn't going to stop. His body would get nothing from being at odds with his mind. He had to see this fight through to the end.

_CAN'T BREAK! PROMISE! CAN'T BREAK!_

That voiceless voice again. He looked over to his shaking long sword, which should have been broken from all of the unnerving cracks of metal that heard earlier. Yet the black blade stood tall while stabbed in the ground beside him.

He had no clue what was going on with the blade that his Captain gave to him, but the urge to grab it and continuing to fight the impossible battle grew. It might have been his imagination running wild from all the blood loss and his growing head trauma, but something told him that it _refused_ to allow itself to break under the stress.

It felt as though some sort of **connection** was beginning to draw itself between him and the object.

After feeling such (possibly delusional) determination from the blade, how could he just lie away while it did its best. A deep ache struck at the lower half of his spine that made his efforts to stand on his wobbly legs that more difficult. He staggered over to his blade with gaping breaths for air, the unsteady walk towards it was just as difficult as the fight itself.

Finally reaching the blade, he laid his hands on its pommel and sputtered out his breaths, and some mouthfuls of blood. He blearily glared back at the Minotaur that was strangely glaring passively at him. He didn't question it as its eyes were still filled with killing intent, something his own red eyes shared in terms of viciousness.

Heaving his long sword out of the ground, he limped his way back over to the Minotaur.

"O-Oi…" He heard the male voice uncertainly call out to him.

He didn't bother acknowledging it again. His enemy was right in front of him and that's where his attention needed to focus on. He gasped out for breath as his mind was starting to grow dizzy, getting savagely flung up into the ceiling like a ragdoll was starting to show its affects on his dwindling consciousness.

This fight needed to end…

Whether it be the Minotaur's end or his own.

He will see this through to the end and do what he feels is naturally right for him.

His grip on the handle of the longsword tightened and he gritted his teeth once the Bull monster started scraping its feet against the ground, an indictor of its impending charge.

***ROOOOOOOOOOAR!***

The beast let out a blood curdling roar stampeded its way at him with its thrown back fist proceeding to obliterate the boy, who's close to keeling over at death's door.

Too fast, he tiredly thought as he struggled to move his body to react. He cursed to himself as his vision started to drearily blur. No, not like this! He can't go out falling unconscious only to soon die. This was supposed to be his first adventure!

His feet wobbled as he staggered back. The Minotaur was almost upon him.

He refuses to die! He still has to fulfill what he set out to do. What his **heart** led him to do!

_"May your heart be your Guiding Key."_

"Huh?" His eyes widened, the voice, the one from his dream. Why did it…?

Soon his surroundings were blanketed in an all-encompassing white void. He had no idea whether something was happening in the dungeon or if he was hallucinating while so close to death, but the only thing he could glance from it all was a figure standing in front of him.

The light from the void made it hard to identify…hold on…he remembered something.

Flapping about and wrapped around their neck was a red scarf?

The figure shifted about in place and turned around(?) and looked Bell in the eye.

"…!"

For that instance, crushing exhaustion ebbed away into comforting lightness.

The grip which held his long sword, slightly grew lax as his fingers spun the blade into a backhanded grip.

Once were wobbly legs now firmly planted themselves on the hard ground in a (sudden and odd) well-practiced stance.

Taking a deep breath, the boy's red eyes closed. The white void was gone, the sound of screaming and yelling were heard in the background along with rapid footsteps drawing near him.

The powerful gale that surrounded the massive fist of the Minotaur blew back his hair as it was a mere few inches from his face. Avoiding the hit was impossible due to the extremely close distance between him and the monster.

It had thrown its whole body into its attack.

Death was imminent but the boy remained unphased. At his own pace, he took a deep inhale through his nose and let it all exhale through his mouth.

His haggard breath became calm and tempered.

And once he'd open his eyes, his body and blade became one in a single instance…

**"ZANTESTSUKEN!"**

In a flash, red became blue.

* * *

**"ZANTESTSUKEN!"**

***THUUD!***

Stunned silence.

Ais Wallenstein and Bete Loga, first-class adventurers from the Loki Familia were left speechless. Their panicked rush to eliminate the packs of Minotaur emerging from the Middle Floors and endangering the lower level adventurers were dashed at the sight that laid before them.

***URAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!***

Blood splattered and stained most of the room's center as a pained, roar from the Minotaur gripping the stump of its bisected arm, which laid uselessly near the motionless and minotaur blood covered form of the low class adventurer that the two were rushing in to save.

Neither the Sword Princess (Kenki) nor Vanagrand could believe what they just witnessed. The white-haired boy that they found pitifully clinging to life after barely surviving a hit from the monster just severed its forearm in a single stroke of his sword.

So many emotions swirled in both of them as they bore witness to the adventurer fighting a hopeless battle, one that to their surprise and chagrin was a battle that he _willingly_ engaged.

To Bete, he certainly wasn't in a rush to interfere at first. When he saw the kid shoot out the hallway like a fucking shooting star and crumple up like wimp, he paid him no mind. It wasn't farfetched for him to think this way considering they were on the upper floors that were inhabited by a bunch of weak, no-name Level 1 adventurers.

So, he left him with the golden-haired swordsman of his Familia to tend to the bloodied wimp since the Minotaur held more precedent than providing aid to some nameless chump.

However, his first impression began to change (but only by a tiny fraction!) when the kid actually pushed Ais and him (yes, him of all people!) aside to face the reeking Minotaur. A bit of himself laughed at the sudden display of audacity at the pipsqueak futilely facing a Monster way above his weight class, but apart of him felt a smidge (a tiny smidge!) of respect for him.

Now obviously the result of the kid clashing with the ugly creature sent him flying and hitting the ceiling of the Dungeon floor, which was pretty high mind you. The force of the blow alone shook the ceiling and as the boy fell to the ground in bloody heap that was when he deemed it time to step in. He wasn't in the mood to watch a weakling get tossed about, he and Ais actually had a job to do by clearing these pesky bull-headed freaks out from the "kiddie" zones of the dungeon and return to aid their expedition groups below.

Their whole exploration to the 59th floor of the dungeon was a complete bust when those New types started crawling out of the woodwork to mess with their shit. And when shit hits the fan, then those fucking creepy **things** called the Heartless (god was that name to be so stupid) start appearing and making things worse.

Everyone was already exhausted putting up with those odd new monsters on the lower floors and the constant tides of Heartless during the whole ascent upwards, so the group as a whole needed all the help that they could get. Because if he has to hear that flat-chested Amazon whine to the captain about letting a certain **someone** tag along for an expedition for the fiftieth time, he was going to flip his shit!

Tch! Even thinking about the bastard put him in a bad mood. A mood that was struck with shock as the broken weakling was back to picking himself up after getting wrecked beyond compare. The kid looked like absolute shit, blood was everywhere (especially all over his face), his legs were wobbling, his breathing was getting shallow, and his red eyes looked heavily unfocused.

Yet when he looked closer at those eyes, he noticed that the weakling still hasn't "died" yet. There was barely able to stand and looking like crap, but he still got up. To further add to his confusion (and growing rage) was the fact that despite all the above this low leveled punk was actually able to do damage to a Level 2 monster!

What the hell!? How could that even be possible? His earlier attacks did jack shit then suddenly he could use that stupid sword and pull off whatever the hell he did? In fact, no, he wasn't even mad about that because that technique seemed too _familiar_ to him. The sheer speed that the kid displayed with that strike it was far cry from ever matching his speed, but that kind of speed still made no sense for a low-class adventurer to have!

It reminded him of that **asshole!** That technique, the stubborn way that he carried himself, and most of all pulling off crazy shit that went beyond the norm that have been established for adventurers everywhere!

Just the thought of imagining that guy's stupid smiling mug pissed the Werewolf off to new bounds. His score has yet to be settled and getting reminded of it through watching some random weakling dampened his overall lightened mood by finally being alone with Ai-he meant alone and away from the annoying bastards from the expedition and take his stress out on these Minotaur…being alone with Ais wasn't an unpleasant bonus.

Despite his anger though, like Ais, Bete still looked on with his feet planted to the ground. The sight in front of them just drew all of his attention, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Just what the fuck is this…?" He lowly muttered, his hands balled up into fists. His nails dug into his palms that they almost drew blood.

His thoughts were shared with his swordswoman companion, Ais, though with significantly less profanity. Though her stoic expression made it hard to identify any emotion, those who looked closer would find that the 16-year-old Level 5 adventurer was severely conflicted with what she just saw.

A Level 1, she assumed, was facing against a Minotaur and actually did it damage? The moment that the boy was flung into the wall through the hallway, she immediately worried for him. His condition was terrible. All of his armor was destroyed, his eyes looked unfocused, and all of the blood stream down his face spoke volumes of the sheer damage that he took from the mid-floor monster. All she could do was provide him some comfort and apply an extra potion that she carries to heal him as a means of apologizing for her Familia's hand in the entire mess.

But before she could treat him, the boy wordlessly stood back up onto his shaky legs and walked right over to the Minotaur with no hesitation in each of his steps. Concerned, Ais rushed over to stop but only got so far as to touch his shoulder before freezing in place once she got a look at his face.

Through the bruises and all of the blood, she made how fierce and determined his red eyes looked. A look that she's been more than acquainted with whenever she looked at herself in the mirror. However, unlike the darkness that roared from the black flames that lit behind her gold eyes; the boy's red eyes gleamed a pure radiance even while his visage was masked with gritted tenacity.

This and the moment that she saw his hunched back try to stand up tall as he continued making his way over to the Minotaur was what made her falter.

He stood no chance, that's what she thought. Even she had to acknowledge reality and notice that the Adventurer standing before her was still a complete novice, who's barely touched ground in this infernal dungeon. That knowledge alone should have been reason enough for her to restrain the boy and be swift with the Minotaur's extermination.

But watching that boy's back gave her pause as he strode towards the Monster, who was in every right superior to him in overall power, with such purpose. The sight of it brought to mind the backs of two others that have forever been ingrained in her mind.

_"Stay there, Ais."_ The back of a heroic man, who she desperately missed, that fought and scarred an accursed winged black beast that she's vowed to slay. A man, who for a single eye, lost his life and became a legend.

_"Looks like you've got yourself an infestation of Invisibles! Stay back and leave it to me!"_ The back of a strange man, who by all means and purposes was an enigma to the society of Orario two years ago, stood defiantly in face of countless demonic-humanoid creatures of **darkness** , who were giving her a Level 5 a rough time. A man, who's light shined brighter than the stars themselves, and possessed an odd sort of strength that she yearned for.

Like the two before her, she once again watched the back of the boy finally engage the Minotaur. She couldn't avert her gaze not even when was tossed about and sent hurtling into the dungeon's ceiling. For a moment, she dared to interfere and put down the Minotaur, but the white-haired boy just got back up onto his feet.

The blow should have put him down for good as it shows since he barely had the energy to stand much less walk. She surmised that the impact of being thrown at the wall from earlier and the currently the ceiling must have severely damaged his spine.

At any point, she wouldn't have put it past him to cry for their help (she even wondered if he knew that they were there), but he didn't. That look in his eyes still burned bright with that white light of his.

So long was she observing the boy that she finally deemed to keep an eye on the Minotaur that was oddly standing in place instead of recklessly charging in to murder the adventurer like so many others. She took a closer look as its face. Those murderous red eyes remained the same and squarely on the audacious boy, but its snout, its constantly gritted teeth of unrestrained rage.

Its lips, they were quirked up. If one really looked at it and had a very colorful imagination, it would look as though the monster was…smiling?

No. Ais shook even the notion off. Denying it with fiber of her being.

A monster was a **Monster.** There was no way these horrid beasts hellbent on eradicating mankind could ever express true emotion.

The Minotaur soon gave charge to the boy, every muscle in its body pulsating as it threw its entire form into delivering a punch so brutal that the Level 1 adventurer would become a bloody smear on the floor if he didn't react. Which was what he did, he paused, closed his eyes, and stood there.

Both she and Bete screamed at the boy before immediately bolting to halt the Minotaur's attack and finally put an end to this madness.

Unfortunately for them, the madness only escalated once the boy shouted something vaguely familiar before in an impressive flash of speed, separated the arm of the Minotaur's throw punch clean off its body!

Ais was speechless. Until now the boy was predictably getting trampled on, his courage and heart were admirable, but that still amounted to nothing against a stronger opponent.

So how…how was suddenly so strong to accomplish that, she thought. Was it a skill? Did he have some sort of secret that gave him power at the last minute? C-Could she be able to learn how to do it, too, and finally get a step closer to **DESTROYING THAT-*AHEM!*** To say that she was shocked would be an understatement.

That's why she put all of her attention on the boy, finding any signs of change that might indicate notable signs of this skill. Mostly, she observed him out of worry and relief that he didn't die.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary save…no, she must have imagined it. She was completely sure that his eyes were red, she must have looked too hard. No, the real notable difference was the boy's expression.

Gone was the fierce and tenacious expression that he once held. Now it was replaced with an excited and even more determined grin as he stiffly turned around to face his foe. As the Minotaur's roar died down, the monster gnashed its teeth angrily and its lips…no, she already denied that implausible possibility.

The boy and monster remained in silence as the two slowly entered their stances once more (the boy taking another low and strained backhanded stance, and the Minotaur taking a much lower stance with its singular hand digging and crushing the floor of the dungeon under its utter power). Both first class adventurers remained speechless at the boy's impressive stamina to even consider continuing, but since he's shown that he's capable of actually doing harm to the Minotaur, they didn't have much to worry about (which was still a substantial amount).

The earth crumbled beneath the feet of the Minotaur as it savagely set its eyes on the boy and charged at him with the same breakneck speeds that costed it it's arm. Such a mindless tactic that's to be expected from a monster, and an easy pattern for the boy to obviously recognize and take advantage of.

***THUUD!***

"What?"

"The shit!?"

Falling flat on his face with that smile plastered on his face, the boy's body finally quit on him. The two adventurers cursed at themselves for getting too into the fight and their own thoughts to remember that this was still a greenhorn adventurer facing a dangerous Level 2 monster!

The Minotaur was not stopping and at the rate of its wild charge, it would either kill the boy with a mighty punch or violently trample him to death. Neither option was one that Ais, and surprisingly Bete wanted to take or watch.

So, she immediately equipped herself with her trusted Durandal attributed blade, _Desperate,_ and joined Bete in intercepting the Monster before it was too la-!

**"FIIIRE!"**

***FWOOOOOOOOSH!***

Three large balls of flames followed by a raging scream erupted from one of the many hallways leading to the room and engulfed the screeching Minotaur that was a mere five feet away from ending the boy's life. Soon a shadow zipped into the room and with a swing of its strangely shaped blade, the Minotaur was sent hurtling and crashing in the opposite wall of the room.

The force of the blow seemed to have dazed it as it slumped down and remained unconscious.

The pair looked at the monster in shock, then to the new arrival, who arrived at the nick of time to save the day.

***TICK!***

**_'Her…' / 'Her…'_ **

Annoyed twitches of the eyebrow indicated the actual moods on the expressionless visages of both Ais and the new addition to the madness, Karen. Gold eyes met Silver eyes in a tense staredown. Sparks clashed between them as their "hostility" for each other rose.

Bete who was the other party outside of this scene was bristling in annoyance for another reason.

"Oi, you! Aren't you a part of that key bastard's Familia? What the hell are you doi-?" He was cut off by the raven-haired girl immediately forgoing her staredown (for now) with Ais to rush to the fallen Bell's side. Bete's eyes widened as his anger only grew from being brushed off and would have chewed the girl out were it not for the recovering Minotaur, who they've momentarily forgot about, resumed its rampant charge after the fallen kid.

***ZAAN!* *ZAAAAAN!* *ZAAAAAN!***

Too bad it didn't get the chance to even get within reach of the boy since Orario's famous, _Sword Princess_ made quick work of eviscerating the monster into bloody gory chunks. Nothing was keeping the first-class adventurers from eliminating it now that the creature's foe was unconscious.

Speaking of the monster's foe…

The pair turned back to a frantic looking Karen tending to the unconscious boy. The way her arms moved about without touching his battered form was reminiscent of a meek child trying to pet some random dog on the street. Getting over herself, the girl immediately pressed her ear to his chest and let out a sigh of relief.

He was still alive and breathing.

She moved to grab something from her pocket but berated herself for forgetting that she gave the rest of her potions away to the injured Ganesha adventurers. The only thing she carried with her was the still warm Jagamarukun that her Master gave to her.

Her cheeks flushed red. He was so kind sometimes…

No! She shook her head. She still had to worry about Bell and tend to him like a good senior should. For a moment she looked to Bell and back to her Jagamarukun with a frown of conflict. After a minute of heavy contemplation, she broke the snack in half and stuffed part of it into Bell's mouth, making for quite a weird (and hilarious) sight.

The boy's cheeks were expanded, and his mouth remained unmoving. Which was good since he'd choke on the fried delicacy, a detail that went unnoticed by Karen, who only breathed out and puff breath from her nose and proudly put her hands to her hips.

Grappling her unconscious Familia member up and over her shoulder, she prepared her ascent back to the surface and to the Guild. Master would handle treating his wounds, the only two magics that she knew mostly offensive.

"Oi, isn't it rude to ignore people who're right front of you!" The sound of a seething growl caught her attention.

Right…she forgot…

Karen turned around to face the two executives of the Loki Familia, a familia, who's goddess was at odds with her own. It was nothing too serious, but the two just could never get along. One of them was Bete Loga, known as the _Vanagrand,_ a Werewolf, who's incredible speed was only matched by his terrible attitude.

This wasn't the first time that they've met and if the constant provoking challenges that he sends to her Master were anything to go by, this meeting would unfortunately not be the last. She didn't really have much to say to the man, she didn't have a real good impression of him and he didn't leave that much of a bad impression on her either, but his poor attitude did push her closer to the latter impression.

There was this one time that he called her an "Ais Wannabe" and to say that made her beyond bitter would be underselling things. So, she simply decided to stick with indifference since she didn't want to take long, plus, she wasn't in the mood for socializing (something she's still working on) with a difficult Werewolf.

"Sorry. Bye." She bowed her head to the Werewolf and went on her wa-

"Hold it!"

Karen's eyes twitched, she really wanted to leave and take care of Bell. Not to mention get away **her** of all people that she's been trying her best not address the other party in the room.

Walking over to stand in her path, Bete's thuggish amber eyes intimidatingly bore into Karen with little effect as the girl impassively stared back at him.

"So…" His eyes trailed from her to the conked out Bell on her back. "Since you're here to pick that kid up, then must be another one of that bastard's kids like you, is that right?"

Karen's irritation grew at the rude naming of her master but kept her stoic disposition. "Yes, he is apart of the Hestia Familia."

"Tch!" The Werewolf annoyingly clicked his tongue.

"…If that's all then-"

"Then how come he wasn't swinging one of those stupid swords that you lot carry with you?"

"That's a personal matter for the Hestia Familia. Don't worry about it." She narrowed her eyes.

"Eh? You trying to tell me what to do?"

"Negative. I'm telling you what _not_ to do, Loga-san." Karen gave her literal answer with a tilt of her head.

"…"

"…"

The two engaged in a tense staredown before the cries of an energetic voice echoed out from one of the many hallways leading to the room.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeey! Ais! We just finished clearing the lower floors! Is everything okay up there!? Is Bete messing things up, up there!?"

"…Tch! Stupid woman…" He begrudgingly broke the staredown to shoot one of the hallways an annoyed look before quickly glaring at Karen, who impassively (yet intensely) kept her eyes trained on him. Spinning on his heel, he stomped his way out of the room with his hands stuffed into his pockets. "C'mon, Ais, lets go regroup with the others…" He grumbled.

Just before he vanished into the darkness of the hallway, he turned his head in Karen's direction and growled. "Just tell that bastard captain of yours to get ready because since we're back, I'm going to find and completely murder his ass."

Tell him yourself, Karen thought to herself, she didn't want to poke the hornet's nest now that he was actually leaving.

This did leave her with another issue that she wanted to avoid lest she engage in another staredown.

Ais Wallenstein, she still stood with her in the room. She couldn't feel her gaze on her as the two have been stubbornly avoiding eye contact. The feeling of irritation still remaining from being in each other's presence.

Were one to look closer, they'd spot the hints of pouting on both of the girls' lips.

"…"

"…"

Neither spoke a word to the other, still embittered by their past _scuffles_ to put in the effort to interact with each other. No, to be truthful, they were gladly using this silence as an excuse not to communicate with each other like a pair of arguing children.

It wasn't until she pieced together the panic that she saw on her descent to the dungeon did she piece together the unusual appearance of the Minotaur.

"…The Minotaur…your fault?" She quietly asked.

"…Yes…" Ais quietly responded. "We…scared a whole pack during our return from the…lower floors." Karen didn't need to face her to tell by her slightly crestfallen voice that she felt bad about the incident.

To be frank, Karen was a bit annoyed that her Familia member was almost killed by the Minotaur, but figured that there was more to it than just those two watching Bell struggle against the monster for fun. Something must have happened, but she didn't push it.

So…she (much to her annoyance) said, "…Its fine, it was just an accident."

"…" A small moment of silence was followed by the blonde slowly nodding her head. "…I see…okay…"

"Hm…" Karen nodded.

The two still faced away with each other. Their short and quiet responses were apparently carrying more meaning than they initially let on.

A pair of gold eyes fell on the torn in half Jagamarukun in Karen's hand.

***Gruuuuuuumble~!***

"…!"

"…?" For the first time, Karen looked over to Ais, who sharply faced the other way.

She opened her mouth to infer further on the strange action but glanced at her fried potato in realization. She must be hungry, Karen thought. Especially since it was technically the Blonde's favorite snack.

So, she decided to do what felt right.

"Ahem." She coughed into her hand.

"…!?" Ais curiously turned around and widened her eyes at the offered Jagamarukun in the raven-haired girl's hand.

"…Here…" Karen offered with a smile.

"…" A look of disbelief crossed Ais' face but the further urging from Karen did nudge her to reach out for the snack. The blonde was desperately craving for one of her all-time favorite foods this past week or two during their expedition to the 59th floor. It might have been half of a Jagamarukun, and she was hesitant to just trust **her** to willingly give it away, but a part of Ais felt that the other girl was being genuine.

***CRUNCH!***

The small smile creeping on her face immediately fell once the Jagamarukun was pulled from her reach and stuffed into the treacherous mouth of the black-haired girl, who proudly stared back at her.

"…hmhm~!"

"…Uuuuurh…!"

Karen quietly hummed to herself in victory while Ais shakily clenched her fist and sent her a frustrated look of anger.

Visible only to these two girls were imaginative apparitions of two younger more expressive looking girls wearing white dresses. The black-haired girl was mischievously blowing a raspberry at the pouting and mad blonde-haired girl.

This childish image symbolized the "rocky" relationship these two shared and emphasized how common yet different the two were. Nonetheless, it ironically also was a form of understanding that's only special these two girls alone.

With her "victory" cemented (for now, she'll have to remain vigilant in case she pulls something later), Karen took that as her chance to leave, but apparently fate just loved to keep occupied with annoying interruptions.

"…That boy…"

"…Hm?" Karen turned around to spot the blonde not pointedly looking at her as she was still miffed by the quick betrayal of losing the chance to enjoy her favorite snack.

"…What's his name?" She finally asked. "…And will he also be learning under him like you…?"

Karen tilted her head, she didn't have to answer that question, and felt nothing from choosing to ignore the last bit. Her master did tell her that Bell could undergo the Ritual of Bequeathing, but that was still a matter left private to the Hestia Familia.

So, she shrugged to herself and decided to _indulge_ the blonde with an answer.

"His name…"

Karen paused as Ais slowly turned to face her, looking at the tired boy so she could put the new name to a face.

"His name is…" Karen took a deep inhale of breath and…

***PBBBBHT!"**

Gave the famous Sword Princess the loudest blown raspberry that she could muster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter because it was another long one. I wrote 25 pages, and this came out to be 12,000 words. Now I'm actually kind of proud with this chapter since I decided to forgo going the canon route of things and take liberties with a different approach.
> 
> Now I decided to go a different route because I've gotten tired of the whole Ais saving Bell thing or other fics having Bell be saved by someone else. Here, Bell attempts to save himself, and though it pretty much fails, he still at least trying to stand on his own since he's already have so many heroic influences like Michael to urge him to spur his own growth by himself.
> 
> Y'know there was a quote that I liked from My Hero Academia that portrayed a moment in this chapter and chapter 3. It was from All Might who said, "Many heroes all show the same quality when they're younger. They all remember their bodies moving before their minds could think." Whenever I think of these words, I immediately picture Bell reacting this way whenever someone's in danger. It aligns with his dream of being a hero, and his selfless kindheartedness.
> 
> Plus, he saved a certain someone, who's appearance was shown earlier than in canon. Heck, she wasn't the only one since there was another character that's starting to be built up. This character isn't obvious yet, but here's a hint:
> 
> [Round 1- Tie, interference from Sword Princess]
> 
> Now there's a LOT that I unpackaged in this chapter, but I'll only go over the vague things that has you guys rattled. So, Bell's "fight" with the Minotaur was what you'd expect, he got the shit kicked out of him despite his bravery and his first adventure had a rocky start. Unlike Bell's fight with the Minotaur in Volume 3 of the LN, his stats here are incredibly too low to even keep pace with the Level 2 Monster, and his skills with the sword are still at a novice's level despite it surpassing most beginning adventurers.
> 
> So, that's why Bell's fight with the Minotaur was shorter and left him nearly falling apart since the force of the Monster's indirect attacks left him half-dead. He only got lucky those few times since his much weaker armor still contributed to keeping him alive.
> 
> As for Bell pulling off a Zantetsuken, well, that's going into spoiler territory, and I'll leave it to you guys to interpret.
> 
> Now for Bell apparently hearing the long sword. Well, I've held on to the concept that ANYTHING could have a heart, so take that answer as you may. It's a long sword that Michael handed down to Bell, not one that he bought exclusively for the boy, but passed down for him to use in the dungeon. You might be asking, why would Michael, who already has the keyblade would ever use regular weaponry?
> 
> Well, the fact that it's a weapon isn't the contributing factor, but where Michael received it plays a role in the foreshadowing, and like before its not going to be hard to piece it together since those who know about the series can piece weapons with another well-known character in Danmachi. The clarification for Michael needing a regular weapon will be have the answer referenced next chapter.
> 
> Okay, let's talk about the Karen and Ais interaction at the end. I hope that you guys enjoyed it since I really looked forward to writing while being super cautious. Especially with the whole young version of Ais that signified that she's still mentally a child a bit, I dunno, I've been reading the Sword Oratorio manga and LN lately (now you know why this chapter took a bit longer), and its sometimes shown that there's a little Ais by the swordswoman's side sometimes.
> 
> So I imagined the same could apply to Karen since she's not exactly…I don't want to say "broken" like Ais, but she's still technically a child a bit mentally considering her own past that'll be mentioned in the future. It won't be as extravagant as Ais' own thing, but it'll inform you all how she's so awkward when socializing.
> 
> Now, I've probably rambled on long enough.
> 
> Next time, we'll be closing this small introductory arc off and move on with the plot, so I hope that everyone has a lovely day, and that you enjoy yourselves with this chapter! Thanks for reading!
> 
> I'm Out so Peace Out and have a lovely day!


	6. Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia (4)

Pain. Regret. Soreness. Exhaustion.

These words literally defined the excruciating existence that was Bell Cranel as listlessly laid flat against the cool surface of the…okay, to be honest, he has no idea what he was laying on or where he was. The only thing at the forefront of his mind was regaining any semblance of his consciousness through all of the negative feedback that his body was sending as punishment for his reckless first "adventure".

D-Did he win, he thought. Everything was still fuzzy to him, he even contemplated that he was dead, but wrote that off since he figured (hopefully) that death wouldn't eternally curse you with this much pain in the afterlife.

So that left him without an answer regarding to his encounter with the Minotaur. Welp, he wasn't going to get any answers by simply wallowing in his own agony and self-pity. The dizzying rush that filled his head, the moment that he sat up was nauseating. He had to clench his eyes shut in order to collect himself, but the feeling itself just wouldn't subside.

Everything from his extreme exhaustion and onward was starting to get to him as his consciousness began to slip away until the sounds of footsteps approaching him could be heard.

_"Hey, pal. You not feeling too hot?"_

That voice…! Gah…no, he couldn't really focus on who it was. His cranium felt like a watermelon crushed to pulpy bits by a Warhammer.

_"Right, dumb question. Look…"_

Bell jumped in place then groaned since that only made it worse. Someone touched his shoulder, and apart from his fright worsening his splitting headache, the physical contact…relaxed him? He didn't exactly know why.

_"Breathe in…breathe out…"_

Unconsciously finding solace with the comforting presence beside him, Bell heeded their instruction. The heaviness that clouded his head was beginning to clear, which gave him enough mental fortitude to attempt to open his eyes and get a good look at the supportive voice, but found that he was surrounded by an all-encompassing void of light that was completely blinding him.

_"Good. Relax and take it easy…"_

_"W-Who are y-?"_

_"Never mind about that. Keep asking questions and search for truths. Always keep that mentality, but right now you need to focus on yourself."_

_"M-Myself?" Bell grunted. "How…?"_

_"Let's try with moving something, anything."_

_"Okay."_

Bell winced in pain as his fingers began to voluntarily twitch and kickstart the groaning of his limbs beginning to shake off the pain induced rust that's wracking his body. He still felt like crap, but an odd sense of refreshment flowed through him from the thought of no longer vulnerably stewing in pain on his back. The fact that the presence beside him filled him with so much comfort added to his bliss.

But this did give way to questions as to why he was so comforted with the unknown presence in the first place and why his chest was filled with a soothing warmth that energized him against his exhaustion. They felt foreign yet so familiar that it left Bell with more questions that began to replace his exhaustion-stricken headache with one of complete confusion.

_"Good. That's the way. You're doing great, pal."_

_"H-Hey, um…"_

_"Hm?"_

_"W-Who are you?"_

_"Like I said before, focus on-"_

The voice never did finish that sentence as everything around them grew immensely cold. It was as though the atmosphere around them was amidst the most unforgiving winter storms imaginable. All of the warmth the flowed through him was sucked dry and replaced with a bone-chilling dread that made his blood run cold and chest painfully tighten up.

Opening his eyes, he found that the void filled with light was now submerged in pitch black darkness.

***Griiiiiiip~!***

He winced and gulped, the gentle grip hand on his shoulder tightened into a vice grip that would give even the most tenacious of vipers a run for their money. He shuddered and broke into a cold sweat at the terrifying new presence beside him.

_"W-W-What's g-going on, who are y-!?"_

**_"The Beginning."_ **

_Fear and complete dread washed Bell's shaky features, and in swift bout of curious bravery (stupidity), he looked over his shoulder at the vile presence next to him. He froze. His eyes couldn't make out a single thing on them as they landed on something that got his whole attention._

_Something ate away at the back of his head that if he were to look away from them, he'd forfeit his very soul to those eyes…_

_Those harrowing **Golden** eyes._

* * *

"Buwwwwwhaaaaaa!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The sounds of two effeminate screams filled the backroom within the Guild with one originating from the newly awoken white-haired boy and the other a curious and mischievous pink headed girl, who was rudely poking away at the unconscious' boy's face. After a while, the two's screaming became a collected deep wheezing for air.

"Ehehehe…looks…like he's finally awake…ugh…I think I almost died of a heart attack…" The pink haired woman sheepishly laughed between her gasps for air.

"W-Where am I?" Bell blustered, and why did he feel so rejuvenated? He looked at his hands and soon his body. Obviously, his armor was nowhere in sight, having been broken by the Minotaur, but by all accounts, his wounds and major injuries to his spine were all gone.

"In the realm of the living, bud."

"…Captain!" Bell whipped around to notice the third party in the room, sitting on a couch adjacent to him was the very man who saved his life and currently leads the whole of the Hestia Familia, Michael, the _Lost Key._ "Y-You're back!"

The boy let out a sigh of relief as he picked himself up to find that he's lying about in one of the Guild's couches. By then, he's already pieced together where he was since the cool setting around him inflicted him with so many grueling memories of enduring his Guild Advisor's relentless lessons. He was back at the Guild, formally known as the Pantheon.

The surprising news that came from this was the proof that he was still alive. Usually when situations like this happen, a person would discount their past experiences to simply be a dream. Yet Bell denied even considering that notion since his heated clash with Minotaur was still ingrained in his memories and heart. Him walking the fine lines of life and death was terrifying and exhilarating to just write off as his imagination.

Not to mention that he saved someone, who he wished escaped the dungeon as soon as caught the Minotaur's ire. That thought would forever stick with him.

"Hiya." Michael waved. "Looks like you've been recently getting into a bit of trouble while I've been gone. Good thing I stuck around here when Karen came bursting in to drop you off, otherwise you'd be stuck tending to and realigning a broken back for the next couple of months."

Michael noticed the boy fearfully wince at his condition but spared no pleasantries when speaking the truth. Everyone was gobsmacked in utter horror when a usually level-headed Karen kicked the Guild's door off of its hinges (something that he had to pay for through a bit of his mission's reward), and came in screaming for any help as she lugged around the broken, bloodied form of the Level 1 adventurer.

To see such raw emotion in Karen's fearful cries was disheartening for him, but apart of him was glad that he made the right call to send her to meet up with him. Now he did hear Karen's account on what happened along with his faithful Chirithy, and a certain pair of advisors, one an exhausted werewolf, and the other a hysterically concerned Half-Elf. And judging from what she told him, there were two other capable adventures in the area that handled the situation when things got too hectic.

When he questioned who they were, Karen mentioned a familiar stubborn werewolf from a certain Trickster God's familia, but when he asked for the other adventurer's identity, she brushed off identifying them and told him that they weren't important.

Ah, so it was Ais then, he thought with a tired sigh.

That also meant that their expedition was over, and would spell more exhaustion for him in the following days once their Familia settled in. He groaned; he could already imagine a certain grinning Amazon reserving a seat in one of the Guild's classrooms that could have been better suited for a new adventurer that needed knowledge of the Heartless.

That's not even going into the "feud" that's going on between his stoic pupil and the city's famous Sword Princess. That was its own cavalcade of problems that weren't severe, but just as troublesome sometimes.

Heck, it would even be refreshing since it would be one of those rare times where Karen was able to genuinely express more emotion without choking up. This sentiment was shared with a kindred High Elf, who expressed her own intrigue with the two girl's relationship. Too bad for both that each interaction between the two stoic girls always led to an altercation over the most ridiculous of reasons.

He decided to not to cross into that bit of "territory" for now and directed his attention on healing the youngest member of his family. That meant he dropped everything including the surprise Heartless informational class that his guild advisor, Rose Fannett spitefully set up for him at the last minute as pay back for his routine entrances to the Guild.

He even made sure to guarantee a refund for those bitter about the lesson being cut short, and of course the Guild's resident pig voiced the opposite and tried to order him to finish the class before healing his student, but after Michael gave him a **convincing** look that left him complying and sweating like a literal pig, he used one of the backrooms to conduct his healing magic.

A simple Cure spell wouldn't have been enough. The boy was close to arriving at death's doorstep, not at it, so he simply used a Cura spell to mend all of his injuries. The major reason why he used his spells than borrowing the Guild's own stock of potions was because the potency of his Cure spells have been more efficient than the world's potions, however, the minor reason was because he didn't want to feel indebted to the Guild's Pig while he was currently fuming about the refunded loss of today's revenue from his cancelled class.

"M-Morris-san, she was the one that-?" Bell began a bit bewildered by the news. A part of him still believed that Karen might have disliked him, so it was surprise to hear that she was the one who brought him to safety.

Catching this, Michael nodded with a smile, "Yup, she came rushing down to help you in the dungeon once I met up with her during my return back to the surface." His smile soon fell once he noticed Bell frowning. "What's the matter?"

"I-I should apologize to her later. I've already been an annoyance to her, so I must have brought her a lot trouble if she went through all of the effort to help me…" Bell was still fuzzy about the conclusion with his bout against the Minotaur, but certainly knew that he was the underdog in that fight.

Taking a deep tired sigh, Michael shook his head. Both of these kids really needed the right push to avoid any oncoming misunderstandings. Rubbing his chin, he decided to forgo telling Bell how distraught she was when she brought him to the Guild, that would have only made the boy feel worse. So, he chuckled to himself and smiled. "Actually, Bell, before things went crazy down there, her reason for entering the dungeon was because she really wanted to get to know you better."

The boy's eyes widened. "Really?"

The Keyblade Master nodded and left the boy to quietly think on it. He desperately wanted the two to become good friends, but he limited himself by giving a few nudges here and there. If he were to just spill everything about their misunderstanding and somehow weave together their friendship, then how would they handle the next one on their own. Every relationship requires patience and trust, the stronger the relationship, the powerful the connection between their Hearts.

Slowly raising his head, Bell quietly said, "Then I'll be sure to thank her if that's okay…"

"You don't need permission to express gratitude to a friend, bud."

"F-Friend? Does that mean Morris-san sees me as her-?"

"No clue. Why don't you ask her the next time you see her?" He shrugged his shoulders, passively as the boy quietly nodded, no longer as sensitive to his blunt answer. That was an answer that Bell would have to get on his own. The point of being a teacher was to pass on his knowledge and allow the students to make use of said knowledge to ask their own questions and seek out more answers that are beyond the threshold of their comprehension.

Why does a star in the night sky occasionally blink out from existence?

Why are there so many worlds that are bordered and separated yet still connected?

Why do Keyblade Wielders fight a hopeless ongoing battle against a primordial force of darkness that's simply a part of the World's nature?

…Why was a single boy spared the fate of falling along with the one World when there were so many others, who were just as deserving to continue living.

These questions spurred Michael on to act and find the answers himself. Each truth that he uncovered was mark for his growth, and each question left unanswered told him that he still had much to learn of the world around him, and himself.

He bitterly laughed; he was never the inquisitive type amongst his old trio of friends. That was more up Ephemer's alley, but sometimes he really did ask valid questions that had even him curious. Back then, he didn't really have as much stake in their investigation of the happenings between the Book of Prophecies and the conflicts between the Foretellers.

To him, it might have just been another adventure. A fun time where he could freely enjoy goofing off and helping folks from other worlds with his two best friends. For much of his life, it was everything he could have ever asked for. And now…

"Captain?" The man saw a deep frown etch itself onto Bell's brow.

Ah, he was doing it again. Getting sidetracked and wearing such a pathetic face in front of his junior (and soon to be pupil) was unacceptable. The boy had just survived his encounter with a Minotaur and came close to dying, now was supposed to be the time he cheered him up, not get depressed.

He needed to endure and…

**Be better.**

Taking a deep breath, he waved the boy off of any preconceived worries that may have risen from his moment of self-introspection because right now he still had a few things to address before…the boy was thrown to the wolves.

Speaking of wolves, he should probably address the pouting pink headed advisor in the room to go get **_her._**

Noticing his stare on her, the woman puffed up her cheeks and stuck her tongue out at them. "Booo!" That got Bell's attention as he focused on the woman, who screamed alongside him from earlier. "You two go on to have a conversation without including me!" She then indignantly pointed a finger at Bell's face. "And you! The first thing you when a pretty girl wakes you up is scream in her face!? Don't you have any manners!?"

_'Weren't you the one poking around with his unconscious body?' Michael sweatdropped._

"I-I'm sorry, Misha-san!" The boy stuttered an apology after finally recognizing her as one of the Guild's advisors and one of Eina's friends, and deeply bowed his head.

"Hmph, you better be! Don't you know how fragile a maiden's heart is? Anyone who doesn't, would be considered a lesser man." Misha cheekily wiped an imaginary tear. "Being scared to death and being ignored has left my poor little broken beyond compare~!"

"S-S-S-Sorry!" Michael groaned and shook his head as the boy did a friendly Eastern God's secret technique (dogeza) to appease the "scorned" woman.

"Bell, you don't have to be so serious. Misha's just messing with you." Michael lightly chuckled.

"Eh?" Bell shakily raised his head to spot the huge shit eating grin on the pink haired guild advisor's face.

"Kukukuku! Such an innocent reaction, I can really see the charm that Eina finds in advising a cute boy like you!" Misha pulled his cheek as if he were a baby much to Bell's discomfort and annoyance.

"Pwease schtop!" Bell slurred and rubbed his aching cheek as the Guild advisor complied.

Suddenly the chipper mood that Misha exuded soon darkened as hunched over with a pitying look on her face. "Seeing someone so precious like you only makes what's about to happen next all the more tragic."

"E-Eh?" Bell rapidly blinked at the morose comment. For some reason, he felt a chill go up his spine, not like the one from his recent dream but it still kept him on edge. J-Just what has been going on since he's been unconscious.

"Usually, I'd be all for skipping out on my paperwork to see the bloodbath unfold…" Misha quietly muttered to herself. "But after looking at how precious you were while asleep, I just can't stomach the thought of you suffering. So, I'll just be seeing myself out." She turned to Michael and grinned. "I'll be sure to tell Chi to come in and give you the sign. I managed to scrape you up some time by volunteering to come with, but I doubt this will keep **_her_** for long."

"Thanks for taking this risk for him, Misha." Michael deeply bowed his head in gratitude.

"Nothing to it!" She gave him a thumbs up. "As an expert slacker, who's studied every loophole in the Guild's guidebook during my five years here in order to extend my breaks, vacations, and anything related to dumping most of the work on my best friend. So, count on me if you're looking to join me for an entertaining little distraction now and again."

"Of course, but…I really don't think you should say that around…you know who at the moment considering…" Michael coughed and sent a not so subtle glance at Bell, who's worries only worsened.

All of the color in Misha's face was sucked out. Her head rapidly nodded in agreement; she zipped her lips and threw the imaginary key away. Saying her goodbyes, she made her way to the door and just before closing it upon her departure, she shot Bell a sorrowful glance. "I hope they remember you…"

The clicking of the door closing was followed by Bell's panicked glances from the door to his Familia's captain, who wore the selfsame smile as he did before. However, there was bit of an edge to it that really unsettled him.

"C-Captain…what was that about…?"

"…"

"Captain…?"

"Hey, Bell, here's a bit of advice for when you and Karen get the chance to talk to Karen. Sometimes, the best way to read someone isn't just through their facial expressions and voice, but also their eyes and body posture. You get it?"

"S-Sort of, but Captain what did Misha meant when she said-?"

"Meh, don't pay it any mind. Everything's all fi-."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

"…"

"…"

The pair sat in stiff silence as the familiar screams of an unfortunate pink haired guild advisor echoed throughout the building. Michael internally prayed for the poor girl, it looked like the ears of her **_attacker_** truly did live up to the rumors of her race. To be honest, he was even starting to get a bit scared himself. Perhaps, he should have warned her not to spill the beans about her mischievous track record.

The walls do indeed have pointed ears…

"C-C-Captain?" Bell stiffly turned to the stiff smile wearing Michael trying his best not to break his composure.

"…Say Bell, why don't you run down what happened in the Dungeon? K-Karen *AHEM!* told me her part of the story, so let's keep ourselves occupied by hearing your side of things."

Bell gulped, for a split second he thought he heard the Captain of all people stammer in fear. It did little to calm his fears. So, he decided to put his everything in telling Michael the specifics of his venture into the dungeon. From his admittedly reckless plunge to the fifth floor and his reasonings for doing so to his incredibly reckless deed of distracting a Minotaur while leading them away from a distressed Werewolf supporter.

As he told each portion of the story, he visibly squirmed under the hardening gaze of his Captain, who's earlier smile fell and tightened his lips into a straight line. You know, saying everything that he did out loud really did make him sound completely unhinged. That's the reason why he excluded the whole "voice" coming from his sword and that weird dream that he had.

He still believed the Captain would have answers for them, but right now he needed to know the type of mood that he's in before he considers asking.

"So let me get this straight, you not only disobeyed warnings to not stray from the allowed floors that we advised you to take, but when you had the chance to run away from a Minotaur, which I should add is way beyond your pay grade and could have killed you, you decided…to steer its attention from someone else and fight it off?" Michael covered his mouth and seriously looked at the nervous boy as he recounted his tale.

"…Yes?" Bell awkwardly shrugged.

"You're not sure?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"No, I-I am. I mean, there's a bit at the end of my fight that I can't really remember, but everything else. Yeah, it happened. Word for word." Bell nodded and gulped as the older man sat back in his seat and dragged out a long sigh. "A-Are you mad?"

"Yes, actually." Bell shrunk in his seat and continued to do so as the Keyblade Master continued. "You forewent listening to our cautionary advice about recklessly plunging into the dungeon, you saw the signs of serious trouble and ran to it instead of away from it, and you nearly died at the hands of a monster without anyone like myself or Iris to watch over you. I'm understandably ticked."

Bell winced as the Captain outright stated that he was just angry with himself than with Bell over the predicament. It hurt and comforted Bell to know that his wellbeing really affected those in his Familia, not that he had any doubt that they would be uncaring of his status.

"You're attempt for going on your first adventure would have been your last. You were too impatient, hotheaded, reckless," The man noticed Bell painfully wincing as he listed off all the things that he was from the explained events, "…and brave, and kind."

Bell's eyes widened in surprise as he raised his head to be met with a beaming smile from the Keyblade Master.

"Despite everything else, you still did what you believed was right, and continued to fight an opponent that's in every way your better in physicality than simply accept death. You put your own life at risk for another's and for that I can't truly be mad at you."

"R-Really, but I went against everything that you, Eina, and Bennett-san warned me about, and most of all went against your good will." Bell stuttered.

"Yep that's still is a reasonable fact to be angry at you, but your reasons for doing so because you felt that you weren't contributing enough to help the Familia does make things a bit better." Michael playfully stuck out his hand and formed a small gap between his thumb and index finger. "By just this much."

Placing a hand on his chest, Michael's expression softened as he smiled. "Bell, do you remember what I keep telling you?"

"Uh…at night, if I happen to hear a pair of screams coming from you and the Goddess' room, don't pay it any mind?" Bell innocently tilted his head.

"Yea-what? Nooo! Not that! I meant the other thing I keep telling you!" Flustered, Michael patted his chest for extra emphasis.

"O-Oh! Right…" Bell coughed and placed his hand over his chest. "May my heart be my Guiding Key."

"Bingo, you followed your heart and did what you thought was best, but…" Michael shook his head.

"You went against our trust, threw it back in our faces, and almost lost your life. A life that we're all trying to preserve and nurture to one day bloom and survive the harshness of the dungeon and the very world itself. Nonetheless, your heart was in the right place, and _you_ just so happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." Michael sighed, stood up and approached Bell. "And for what? Because you felt inadequate that your accomplishments were not providing as much to the Familia?"

Bell grunted and felt oddly at peace as his Captain's hand gently rubbed his head.

"Well don't. We're all doing fine, and I'm not saying that its meaningless for you to want to help." He needed to address and rectify that since he knew how naively the boy would interpret that. "We all contribute with supporting our Familia in our own ways. Either through working at the dungeon, patrolling the streets for Heartless, and working the café with our Goddess. You and Karen bring more to the table than simply helping us wrack up revenue."

"Morris-san too?" Bell asked and received a nod.

_'Its one of the reasons why you two would get along. You're both so earnest.' He amusedly thought to himself._

"You learn, you naturally grow stronger both in mind and body, and you become better people because of it. The important contribution above all of that…you come back alive and you continue getting better. That's all that all of us could ever ask for because…"

The young man moved his head from the boy's mop of white hair to his shoulder and comfortingly grasped it. "Your worth it."

Moisture began to gather up around Bell's eyes, his body shook as he slowly nodded with a mumbled "Thank You". Good, Michael didn't want the kid to feel like he has to kill himself to progress just because he solely felt that he owed it to him and the whole of the Hestia Familia. He wants his friends and students to grow in a healthy and well-paced fashion instead of a life-shortening and reckless pursuit of strength like some poor souls, who'd do virtually anything to appease a _certain_ Goddess.

"Don't mention it. You followed your Heart and ultimately did what you thought was right like how Hestia and I followed ours and chose you to be apart of our family. Nothing else needs to be said." Michael chuckled.

Bell sniffled and wiped his eyes of any forming tears. "S-So does this mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Ohohoho! Yeah, SO much trouble!" Michael laughed darkly.

"Erk!" Bell flinched.

"What? You still disobeyed our warnings and almost got yourself killed by foolishly diving deeper to floors that you're not equipped to handle. You may get my respect for being brave and following your heart, but always remember Bell: Nothing in this World is without consequence…" An undeniable fact that the boy will have to acknowledge if he ever hopes to understand the nature of the World and become a proper Keyblade Wielder.

…Oh, shoot, he forgot that Karen couldn't tell the boy the news of his plan to undergo the Bequeathing ritual due to him being unconscious. Welp, he'll just have to make it a surprise when they go back home. The girl will probably be disappointed that she can't deliver the news, but he's already helped her by giving Bell a couple good nudges to make their two-sided misunderstanding clear up.

"Your punishment will be determined after I talk with Hestia about what happened…among other happenings during my absence…" Bell tilted his head at that last part that his Captain muttered. "You just make sure not to feel too bad for yourself when it's given. You did the crime, so you'll have to pay the time. Well nothing THAT severe but you still catch my meaning."

"Y-Yeah, I got it." Bell sadly nodded. Despite getting praised for his bravery and his iffy tango with the Minotaur, getting punished was still something that you wouldn't feel too great about getting.

But since the man was in a positively leaning affable mood, he saw this as his chance to finally address something that's been continuing to bother him since this morning and now recently.

"Say Captain, I've been meaning to ask…"

"Hm?"

"Lately, I've been having these strange dreams, and I've been wondering if you can help me figure them out." Bell scratched the back of his head.

"Of course, but you might have to get specific since there's no shortage of strange dreams out there…" The young man joked and sat on the couch across from the boy. He had experienced his own brand of "strange" dreams that haunt him almost every night. It really makes him glad that his Chirithy companion was always there to "eat" away at the unpleasant nightmares festering in his sleep.

"Well, its like…" Bell's hands tightened at the memory of those weird platforms, facing the Heartless, speaking to apparitions of his Grandfather, Goddess, and a young boy. Bell gave Michael a quick glance. "When I experienced them, I wondered like…if any of what happened was for real…or not? You know what I mean…uh…Captain?"

"…" Bell couldn't make out Michael's thoughts at all as the man seemed to be doing a good job of hiding them, but through heeding his captain's earlier advice, he better examined his eyes an noticed a bit of something that explained why the man was covering his mouth in deep thought.

He was left in stunned silence.

"S-Sorry. J-Just, yeah, I can kind of understand what you mean, but to make sure…continue…please." The man calmly urged.

Nodding, Bell was a bit surprised himself to see his captain look this off-guard. It made him wonder if what he dreamt was good thing or not. So just as he was about to get into the real gritty of his dream escapades, a plume of pink smoke filled the room from out of nowhere, and bouncing through it was a familiar adorable cat-like creature frantically waving their arms around.

" ** _She's_** coming! **_She's_** coming!"

"Chi?" Michael turned to look at his panicking Chirithy in confusion before his jaw dropped at the remembrance of Misha's last words. His face grew pale at the imminent doom approaching them or more specifically the poor sap, who sat across from him.

Unfortunately the poor sap was oblivious to the clear Red flag being waved in his face as he happily greeted the adorable new arrival. "Oh, hello, Chi! How've you been doing?"

"Bell! Thank goodness, you're alright, well, your healing was in Michael's capable hands. Good thing it wasn't with directions otherwise…" Chirithy sighed in relief. "No no no! That's not important" Chi turned to Michael and frantically waved their arms and moved about in place. "We have to go! She's already making her move!"

"Right…" Michael immediately gave his compliance with a nod and stood on his feet as his trusty little companion hopped onto his shoulder and grabbed on for extra security.

Befuddled, Bell looked between the two. "Huh, what's going on? Did something happen?"

"Well…before Karen left for home…" Because she knew that danger was brewing. "She told everyone what happened down in the dungeon and your confrontation with the Minotaur."

"I get that, but I still don't see what the issue is…" Bell questioned why he was starting to get a bad feeling.

"Well, when she told everyone…" Michael went over to the corner of the room and slung Bell's sheathed long sword over his shoulder. "And I do mean **everyone…"**

"Hu-?"

***BAAAAAANG!* *BAAAAAAAANG!***

"…"

"…"

The two looked over to the only door in room. Was someone knocking because those two knocks just now sounded too violent for comfort.

Bell gulped, "Uh…Captain…huh?" Bell turned to the room's corner to find that the man was gone. He was only able to grasp the man's sloppily retreating form on the windowsill from his loud struggling. "C-Captain!"

Half of his body already out through the window, Michael solemnly bowed his head to the poor fool. "Bell, don't worry about the severity of your punishment when we get home. I'll be sure to lighten the sentence, so make sure to survive!"

_'Survive!?' Bell's jaw dropped as the banging on the door only grew louder._

"I'm going to miss you. You were the only one in the Familia, who never smothered in a hug once you joined." Chirithy sniffled.

_'A-Am I about to die!?' Bell panicked._

"We'll talk about your dream later! See you on the other side, bud!"

"No, wait, Captain!" Bell reached out but he was too late, the man had already made his daring escape out the window and fled for his life.

"And when I mean "other side" I'm referring to the front desk, so we can return home together." Never mind, he popped his through the window to give the boy some clarification. "That way we don't have to delay anything so we all can head straight into dinner ti-!"

***GACHA!***

"Okaytalktoyoulater! BYE!" The man fled just as the room's doorknob began to turn and open with an ominous creak.

"…" Bell was frozen in the spot as complete and utter terror filled him. Once the door's creaking came to a stop upon its opening, Bell's heart stopped beating for a few long seconds.

Oh…so that's what they meant when tale of his reckless fight with the Minotaur reached **_everyone's_** ears. More specifically, the pointed ears of a frightening brunette Half-Elf, who's expression was eerily cold and stoic, so stoic that it gave Karen's a definite run for her money. The lenses of the woman's glasses reflected an ominous light that hid the burning fury that lied in her green eyes.

A raging aura bursted forth from the still woman, who's sights were unmoving from her trembling prey.

Bell was about to experience true hell once more after his exhausted awakening. Except now that he's faced with utter damnation, the best response that he could before his end was one thought.

**"So…I heard that you've recently gone on your first adventure... _Care to elaborate?"_**

He'd much rather face a murderous Minotaur than his guild advisor, _Eina Tulle_ any day; hands down…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry, that this chapter turned out shorter, I have an upcoming Group Presentation for my class, so I needed to put my attention on that for the approaching week. So, how did you guys enjoy the chapter? I hope that you all liked it! Now of course not every questioned was given an answer, but I believe this is a good Segway for nearing the end of this introductory arc.
> 
> Next time, we'll finally get to see the whole of the Hestia Familia together and other plot points being shown beyond that.
> 
> Well, I hoped that you all enjoyed the bits of comedy since I've been dying to work my usual magic from Gutsy Sekiryuutei to this story, and I hope that the adult joke made in this chapter wasn't uncomfortable or embarrassing for some. It only solidifies the relationship between Michael and Hestia so…yeah…
> 
> Anyways! I hope that you all have a lovely day! I'm Out so Peace Out and take care!


	7. Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia (5)

"So, on a scale of 1 to 10. What are his chances of survival?"

"Zero."

"Sheesh, Eina's really THAT mad?"

"Yes and no."

"Huh?"

"Eina's never been one to let her clients go the **easy** way. Instead she'll ensure that they'll receive the maximum incentive to keep living tearing down and rebuilding their will to live, brick by brick."

"…That actually sounds terrifying. So, wait, what was the "No" part about?"

"That was my response to the scale that you made for your question."

"Huh, but you did answer that with zero."

"No, that zero meant something else."

"Like…?"

"Like the absolute amount of fucks that I have to spare for this conversation."

"Uwaaa….! Rooooooose…" A pitiful whimper joined the conversation as the hasty sounds of a pink headed advisor's quill was filling out the additional stacks of paperwork that a certain Half-Elf pushed onto her as punishment (payback).

"Shut up and work, Misha." Rose Fannett, guild advisor to the Pantheon and senior to of Eina Tulle and the currently wailing Misha Flott, growled at the constant source of her stress and aggravation, who was yet again impeding with her work productivity. "Now get away from my desk. You've already reported the completion of your mission and know when and where to expect your reward."

"Reduced reward…" Michael coughed in his hand, pointedly not looking in the direction of the building's busted door, which was gaining the odd looks of onlookers on the streets outside. He was really going to have a chat with Karen about that later.

"Yes, that, and…" The redheaded werewolf pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to him. "This."

Michael's eyes trailed down the cursive written parchment and noticed that a set schedule for the upcoming four days was written on it. He started piecing things together once he read the words "Heartless Lecture" in various timeslots.

Not even giving him the chance to voice his thoughts, Rose decided to speak them aloud herself. "Because of the abrupt end of today's class, you're to arrive on the designated days to teach the adventurers that paid for today's session."

The man's shoulders fell as a deep sigh slipped past his lips. "Lemme guess. Instead of giving the adventurers refunds, Royman decided to reschedule the classes for the rest of the week."

"Yup."

"That would explain the different timeframes…" Michael mumbled. The old pig was stubborn as hell when it came to money, he'll give him that. He couldn't have imagined the amount of work that went into gathering and organizing the busy schedules from the adventurers attending his class in order to create a whole new schedule throughout the week that matched with their availability. He found the old elf's gesture to be considerate but did not deny that main motive was to avoid losing Valis.

Despite his greed, Michael had to admit that the **Old Man** sure picked an amazing and hardworking man to be the false leader and face of the Guild's authority in Orario.

"But hold on…why do I have to teach all of the classes? Aren't one of you guys more than capable?"

The Keyblade Master's business dealings with the Guild these past few years were complicated. At first, he was thrilled to simply share the details of the Heartless with the organization for free. He even offered to teach for free as well (now in hindsight, he was beginning to regret it a bit).

Thankfully, before Royman could wholeheartedly agree and make a profit off of his good will, the **real** figurehead of the Guild stepped in and insisted that Michael at least receive payment for his added contributions towards fending off the ghastly shadow creatures. So, in addition with the monthly payments from the Guild, he'd receive 15% of revenue from his written Heartless Compendiums, and 15% from volunteering to teach the classes.

This didn't sit well with Michael at first, but he reminded himself that he couldn't be so charitable especially with his Familia still being dirt poor at the time.

It was a crucial reminder since he's not simply a visitor to the world; he intends to make it his own home, and to do that he'll have to acclimate to how its society functions. All it meant was that he couldn't be TOO selfless with his deeds.

That wasn't to say that he needed to act as jaded and cutthroat like the adventurers that inhabited the city. The type that relished the "Strongest of the fittest" mentality while belittling those, who didn't possess the strength or will to help themselves.

Never.

"We are. It's just that Mardeel-san used _your_ name as instructor to reel them in and convince them to the new schedule change." Rose groaned and leant back in her chair, she might as well since the man wasn't going to leave anytime soon what with Eina tearing into the poor runt that she's advising.

"We've read your work and integrated it into lessons to be taught to newbies among the other know-how for the Dungeon. However, instead of hearing about this from stuffy Guild employees, most adventurers would rather learn about Heartless from an expert, who's reputation as the " _Lost Key"_ and his unofficial title as " _Savior of Daedalus"_ still precedes him."

"…I don't know how to feel about my name being used this way, especially with that stupid nickname the gods at the Denatus gave me." Michael scratched his head.

Rose let out an amused snort at that. It was an odd case to actually hear that from an Adventurer. Held every three months, the deities of Orario gather to discuss the events going on in the city while ganging up on each other to give Children from other gods'/goddesses' Familia's the cringiest and edgiest names imaginable. She's heard from an old senior of hers that it was basically a Roast towards the God of honor by going after the one thing they loved, their Children.

Now of course, apart from the deities, adventurers seemed to love these nicknames, and Rose wasn't one to judge or care, so she didn't bother judging. Yet, she wasn't one to hide her amusement to see her client fume about his epithet the first time he received it. She should have expected that the weirdest adventurer that she's ever advised would be aghast by the time. She even laughed at his face once his official level up to "Level 3" was announced and the title was still kept for him after that following Denatus.

If there was one thing that she found joy in from this soul-breaking profession of counseling idiots, who willingly jump into a deadly dungeon only to inevitably die, it was finding pleasure in the weird man's misery.

_'Among…other things…' Rose grunted, stealing a long glance at him before focusing on the paperwork on her desk once he turned around._

"Well, you're name's going to be used for more than just that. Since today's class was broken into groups for the oncoming days. There will be open seats for any more adventurers wanting to pay to attend, and because _you'll_ be the one teaching…"

"Ugh…!" Neither of them needed to say anything because they knew that a few of the last-minute adventurers joining will be _difficult_ to say the least. One of them being an insistent Familia captain, who's Goddess is friends with his own. The other, a pleasant yet exhaustingly energetic Amazon, who's goddess constantly butts heads with his own.

The Familia Captain asking more about the keyblade has mellowed out lately thanks to a quick chat with a friend to handle things; the Amazon however wasn't too bad, but he doesn't approve with how she's always signing up for the class despite being a high enough level to handle herself and already knowing the material. That seat that she always takes would much better suit a fresh adventurer, who has yet to face the Heartless.

And those were only the two, who's intentions were honestly decent. The others were the unsavory kind, who wanted to recruit him to their Familia, threaten him, and sometimes usually both. A flash image of a brown, ponytailed man came to mind, but it wasn't important to dwell on at the time. There was also that one time where an Amazon stayed after class and attempted to *AHEM!* seduce him over to the Pleasure Quarter of the city.

So, yeah, he's met a lot of colorful people during class time!

Rose relished the amount of Schadenfreude welling up in her with each dragging groan that flew out the man. This almost makes up for his usual bombastic entrances that he makes whenever he returns.

She knew the reason why he does it along with having Chirithy stay with her during work to assure her of his status while in the Dungeon, but she wasn't happy about it at all. Nope, she's not the least bit thrilled to have him so concerned for her. There's absolutely no way that anyone could prove that she secretly feels relieved whenever the fool kicked down the door and announces his arrival!

"Me being impressed with how far greed pushes your boss to plan that far ahead aside…" Michael dragged his hand over his face. "I hate being popular…"

"Well, you're shit out of luck. You're in the one city in the world where Gods willingly leave the safety of the Upper World to get a front row seat to witness the struggles of those of us below. If you wanted to avoid getting fame, then you should have sought a different career than being an adventurer." Rose pointed her gloved hand at him.

These were the facts, and despite it being rare for any normal adventurer to lament their fame, she's grown used to her advisee not being the set norm that the city has come to produce. "Any adventurer would kill to be in your shoes. No, wait, adventurers have killed to be in shoes like yours but," She sighed, "at least you realize the dangers of fame."

"And here I thought that things would cool off by now. It may not be as chaotic as it was back then, but it's still such a hassle." Michael scratched his cheek.

Rose huffed out in amusement. "Pfft! You think two years is long enough for an active adventurer's publicity to die down? Yeah, good luck telling that to the public, who've grown up hearing the exploits and tales of the _"Braver", "Nine Hells", "Elgarm",_ and _"SOLDIER"._ That last one has still been the talk of the place for the past TEN years."

Michael winced. She was right. In the long run, his two-year tenure in this World seemed much brisk when compared to the other well-known adventurers before him. So, someone like him with such a fresh reputation was bound to get a lot of attention and by extension unwanted attention (though he's already had bitter experience with that if the heated look that he received from the top of Babel was anything to go by).

Just perfect.

Perhaps lingering on the subject wouldn't do him any good in this department. As a matter of fact, now that " _SOLDIER_ " was brought up…

With a resigned sigh, Michael asked, "Okay, I'll be sure to come in." Besides, its not like he wanted to relax and teach his own pupils after returning from his mission. "But do you think I could squeeze out a lesson in the Colosseum before the Monster Feria?" The last day on the schedule was devoid of any classes as a massive drawing of the God of Masses, Ganesha-

* * *

"Yes, I am Ganesha!"

"Ganesha-sama...no one said your name…" Groaned the Vice-Captain of the Ganesha Familia, Shakti Varma.

* * *

-took up the entire day's timeslot.

"Not possible, they're still using it for the remaining days to clear out the Monsters that they use to train their recruits before cleaning it up for the event." Rose shook her head. "If you really want permission to use it, then just ask the Ganesha Familia for permission. You're on good terms with them so no one would fault you for making use of that connection."

"Nah, I don't want to impose with a request that out of the blue especially when they'll be busy for the rest of the week." Welp, guess he had to stay cooped up in the backrooms for the following four days to come. He wasn't going to complain since he knew the **real** importance of the Monster Feria's success.

"You're loss…" Rose shrugged then began to wave him off. "Now would you be so kind as to step the hell away from my desk and leave me be? I have work and I can't finish it with all your questions and complaints."

"Hey, Rose, you have any plans for Monster Feria?" Michael continued as he stood in place reading his new schedule.

"For fucks sa-! No." Rose quietly hissed at him since her words fell on deaf ears. Angrily pointing past his shoulder, she growled, "Wait in the lobby."

"And sit next to that eyesore of a statue? No thanks." Michael muttered, distastefully.

"Sounds like a personal problem. Go." Rose snapped her fingers and pointed to lobby.

"So, about Monster Feria…you want to hang out?"

"No."

"C'mon, it'll be fun to chill with friends."

"Hell no."

"Why not?"

The werewolf's lips straightened in a thin line. "Because I work that day."

"I know. It's not my first Feria, you guys at the guild always sponsor the festival and supervise things to ensure that chaos is brought down to a minimum." He noticed the annoyed twitch of one her wolf ears. "What I mean…is would you like to hang out during your break?"

"…Why?" It creeped him out that Rose's usual annoyed expression grew rigid and unreadable.

"You know just to have fun and so you can enjoy a bit of the festivities before your dragged back to work." Michael chuckled. "I mean when was the last time that you participated at the Feria without having to be the staff that maintain everything?"

"…" Rose's silence spoke for itself, but that neutral expression of hers was still unsettling. Did he do something wrong? "Wouldn't you naturally be going out with your Goddess?" Rose wondered why the man would even go in the first place considering the first event that he went ended in a disaster from freak accident that almost costed him the life of his Goddess.

N-Not that she cared what happens to him!

"Of course, but it doesn't mean that I can't include hanging out with a friend."

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Aren't you also going out with Iris too?"

"Of course. I'd be spending time with her too along with the other members in my Familia. There is a lot of time to enjoy the Feria with everyone so there's no need to rush." Plus, should any Heartless be reported during the celebration, he'll handle clearing them out while letting everyone else enjoy themselves. He frowns a bit, realizing that should that happen his Goddess would be miffed that he had to cut their date short. "So, let's meet up whenever your break's about to start unless you don't want to do it."

"…" Rose remained impassive. "We'll see." She returned to her paperwork, not dignifying the man a direct answer. It wasn't a yes or no. It meant "I'll think about it", but when Rose said it with that gruff uncaring voice of hers, it might as well of been "I'll only say yes now to get you out of my face, so I can forget about it later".

But Michael being the optimist that he was, happily looked at the brighter side. She certainly didn't say no, so there was a chance at least. "Nice. So, make sure to tell me the time your break is then we'll meet up at…well, we'll think of a place to meet at during the week before it happens."

"…Whatever." Rose grunted.

***PWOOOOOM!***

A familiar cloud of smoke erupted in thin air and out came the plushy form of Chirithy. Thank god, Rose thought. She could use with a distraction. "So…is Bell not coming home with us or has he…?" Chi drew a halo over their head and clap their stubby hands together in prayer.

"Don't worry, Chi. Rose said that Eina won't kill him. The worst that she can do is break his will to live and build it back up again like brand new."

"…I don't see how that's any better." Chi tiredly groaned and facepalmed.

"Well, it's said that surviving a life-threatening incident gives the victim a boost in euphoria, so in a way, Bell's receiving twice that pleasure today." First from the Minotaur and now a blistering Eina. It was a fair trade off for his reckless and commendable actions…sort of.

Eventually Eina did return wearing a sweet smile that greatly contrasted her sour mood from earlier. However, trailing behind despondently her was yet another victim to the Half-Elf's harsh advising. Michael swore that the boy looked more exhausted than he did after waking up from the incident.

"So…how did everything go?" Michael coughed.

"Quite well, Michael-san." Michael shuddered, her voice still had a bit of an edge in it and the Half-Elf's smile wasn't making any less apparent. "I just decided to **hammer** in all of the past lessons that Bell-kun apparently forgot about today into his head. We can't have him run off into danger and get himself killed. Nope. That'd be dreadful. Almost as dreadful as going past the recommended dungeon floor and breaking my trust."

"I-I'm sorry, Eina-san…" Bell's teeth chattered and shook in his boots. It was almost heartbreaking to see the boy look this pitifully apologetic.

"Hm? Bell-kun, why are you still apologizing? I already forgave you. Plus, it all worked out in the end, _right?_ You came back alive and well after going on your first _adventure_ even after I expressly told you **not** to go on one. So stop apologizing and be thrilled that you'll get to continue being under my guidance and actually heed my words… ** _right?"_** The light reflecting off the Half-Elf's glasses truly encapsulated the foreboding nature behind her words.

"I-I'm so sorry…"

**_"Bell-kun?"_ **

"…R-Right…"

"Good!" And just like that the Half-Elf did complete 180 and her chipper mood became more genuine with an honest smile on her face.

_This still did little to comfort the disturbed Keyblade Master. 'I-I'm sorry, Bell.' Michael gave the boy his condolences. He's had his fair share of admonishment (well, cursing and insults) from Rose whenever he had to report in some of his reckless exploits in the dungeon, but even had to admit that Eina's methods of advising was simply too brutal._

Well, her brutality was a sign that she cares, so that's at least counts for something. Still doesn't change the fact that she was downright terrifying most of the time.

"Eina, you can be quite scary sometimes…" Chi voiced what his Keyblade Wielder felt.

"Here you go, Michael-san." Ignoring the comment, Eina placed her hands on the boy's shoulders and pushed him forward. "You said that you were going home, yes? Well, I hope you all have a lovely evening. Welcome back, Michael-san."

"Y-Yeah, thanks. Its good to be back…" Michael awkwardly laughed as Bell was pushed into his hands. "H-Hey, pal, you doing okay?"

"…I-I'm sorry…" The boy was like a broken record, and dang, he still shook like a lead. Plus, his eyes were deader than a gutted trout. Eina really did not hold back!

"Yikes…" Chirithy frowned.

"H-He'll be fine. He'll be fine." Michael repeated to himself for self-reassurance. He still was going to give the boy his own brand of punishment when they returned home. Just less severe than Eina's lest he leaves the boy a crying mess of "I'm sorries". "It was nice seeing you guys. Take care, Eina…"

"Michael-san." Eina bowed.

"Misha…"

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Michael looked over to the wailing pink-haired receptionist still crying into her mountainous stack of paperwork.

"Rose…"

"Thank the gods, you're finally leaving…"

The man smiled at his advisor's rude dismissal. The werewolf's literally one of the very first people that's been there to support him since his debut as an adventurer (and secretly a new inhabitant of this world). Her cold exterior was easy to see when they first met, and like another grumpy Werewolf, he knew that there was a reason for their abrasive nature. So, her snide remarks had no effect on him.

However…

"Well, its been a pleasure assisting you these past few days, Miss Rose. I made sure to organize the last batch of documents for that group of adventurers who came to visit." Chi bowed.

"Thanks, Chi. Goodbye and take care." Rose amicably waved the Chirithy goodbye.

It still hurt a little to witness her treat Chi more nicely than him. It was nice to see Rose smile like that, but still…the treatment between him and his longtime partner were night and day.

Trudging the despondent Bell towards the door, Michael gave one last wave back to the trio of receptionists along with Chi. "See you guys later…or more like tomorrow…" He muttered that last part to himself in a huff. "Oh, and Rose make sure to tell me when your break begins so we can have fun together!"

"Eh!?" Eina started looking like a red tomato along with the furious Werewolf beside, who would definitely pass as a steaming kettle.

"Stop shouting stupid shit without context!"

"Whoops, sorry. So, are you going to-?"

"I said we'll see!"

"But-"

"Get outta here! Now!"

"Au revoir."

Shrugging, Michael happily waved on continued his way to the exit. Which left Rose with the irritating aftermath of that misunderstanding with her two colleagues, specifically the troublesome one of the pair.

"Au re-what?" Eina tilted her head at the weird word. That word wasn't from any dialect that she's ever heard of, Rose must've taken notice of her confusion and simply told her not to mind her strange client's words.

"Hey, Rose. Why is your tail wagging?" Misha asked.

"Why are you staring at my tail?" Rose grumbled.

"Well, you were picking up a bit of wind just now and it kept blowing some of my work away. In fact, you're tail's been consistently wagging the whole time that you've been chatting with Michael-san about the Monster Feria." Misha pointed out, then a cheshire smile plastered itself onto her face. "Ufufufu! Don't tell me…were you actually happy when he invi-?"

"…Hm? What's that Misha, you want to work overtime by doing half my share of today's reports? Why thank you, I really appreciate your sense of diligence."

"No! O-Okay, I'll stop! I promise not to tease you! In fact, I'll reserve all teasing for Eina whenever her "Little Brother" comes in!" Misha fell to her knees and begged the werewolf.

"Rose-san, go ahead with giving her half of your reports." Eina ruthlessly stated.

"Sure." Uncaringly, Rose plopped the stack onto the suffering human's desk.

"NOOOOOOO!"

***Gacha!***

"Ah!"

"Hm?"

Before the group of three consisting of Michael, Chirithy, and Bell (who was still out of it) could leave, they came face to face with a beautiful golden-yellow haired elf clutching a white staff encrusted with a magical stone in one hand, and some carved wooden item in the other. One look at that face being present, and he's able to confirm that the Loki Familia's expedition has returned and are apparently back on the surface.

"Hello, Lefiya…" Michael waved.

"O-Oh, Michael-san?" The vaunted _"Thousand Elf"_ gaped at him and the long sword strapped to his back. The way her eyes glazed over him was like she was mentally piecing some elaborate puzzle together. Looks like he was the last person that she expected to run into but was not saddened or angered by it all. In fact, she looked happy at the incidental meeting. "H-Hi! Its nice to see you again."

"Likewise. You guys have been gone for a while. I actually had a quest to take care of during your absence, so I guess that its luck that we all came back on the same day."

"R-Really? What are the odds? Hehehe…" Lefiya nervously laughed.

"Good evening, Miss Viridis."

"Ah, Chi~!"

"No hugs!" Chirithy screeched once the Elf's arm began to reach for them.

"R-Right, sorry." Lefiya sheepishly apologized while cuddly dream eater tiredly shook their head. Michael snickered, it certainly wasn't the first time that would happen, and it wouldn't be the last. His little pal might be annoyed by random people picking him up to cuddle, but he personally believed it was way better alternative than them straight up attacking them for believing that they're a monster.

"White hair…red eyes?" Now the elf looked at the despondent Bell in recollection. She did remember hearing Ais-san angrily mumble those descriptions when she regrouped with the rest of the expedition after some incoherent babbling about Kar-something being stupid?

In all honesty, she was pretty much taken with how cute the swordswoman was with her angry pouting. The same couldn't be said for the fuming Bete, but no found that to be out of the norm.

"Something the matter?" Michael questioned.

"O-Oh no, its nothing. Just wondering aloud to myself." Lefiya hurriedly shook her head, then sighed in relief. "But since you've been gone as long as us; this should at least give Tiona-san some comfort."

"What?" Michael blinked in confusion. A part of him didn't like how that sounded since it included one of the troublesome adventurers that manage shoehorn themself into almost every one of his Heartless informational classes.

"…It probably isn't my right to say this, but she was particularly disappointed that she couldn't make it to all of your classes during the trip. But since you were gone on a mission, albeit a little later than us, that would cheer her up to know that she didn't miss one of your personal classes." Lefiya happily smiled for the plight of her friend.

"A-Actually, I'd very much suggest that she stick to reading the books and perhaps attending the classes that Guild runs than simply come to lectures that I give." Michael tiredly groaned.

"I-I understand." Lefiya wryly smiled. She was sort of glad that the Amazon was too tired to join her. Although, she'll be throwing a fit should wind of this meeting ever reached her.

After all it was a common occurrence in Twilight Manor revolving around the Amazon rushing scrounging for Valis to attend the classes from either her own savings or her older twin sister's (that results in a VERY destructive sibling spat). All while closely being updated about the Heartless lecture schedules that the Guild posts, but she along with the others aware knew that she mostly checking the "Lecturer" designations for each day.

"So…how was the expedition?" Any exuberance on the Elf's delicate (and nervous) features were washed away by her mental and physical fatigue finally emerging to the surface. The girl's appearance was dirtied by usually pristine gear now covered in claw marks, burns, and blood stains.

"I-It was…a challenge." Lefiya wistfully sighed.

Any injuries on her body were nonexistent, probably thanks to some potions and the reliable healing spells of the Familia's strongest Mage. But the toll of whatever she faced on that expedition to the…erh…60th floor(?) really left put the poor girl through her paces if the bags under her eyes were any evident.

"There were just so many of them. Some new and others…too strong." She blankly looked off into space.

"Monster? Or Heartless?"

"Yes."

_'Yeesh…' Michael winced. He knew from experience that the Heartless traversed the depths of the dungeon's lower floors in countless packs, so it made him wince knowing that adventurers like Lefiya have to go through those odds along with dangerous monsters that naturally inhabit the space._

"There were so many things that even the Captain couldn't take into account." And if a veteran like the _"Braver"_ had trouble coordinating things, then it undeniably was a taxing challenge to plan things out. "So, we had to fall back after getting overwhelmed."

"I see."

"Yeah, it was tough for everyone…especially…" Lefiya never finished that train of thought and only pressed the wooden carving on her chest, using it to scrounge up as much metaphysical strength as she could.

"At least you guys made it back safe and sound, I hope." He tried to put the failure of their expedition in a more a positive light. When she nodded, he said. "Good. You guys get to live to fight another day, and that's more important than reaching some goal by floors."

"AHEM!" A non-subtle cough from his Chirithy roused him to move things along.

Heeding the cue, he gave the elf one last smile and wave. "Know this, there's no shame in failure, and its alright to feel scared. Try again and just follow your heart." He motioned Bell and Chirithy (who was still despondent throughout that whole conversation, SHEESH) around Lefiya and out the door.

"B-But!"

"?" He snapped his head back to spot the elf tightening her grip on the carved wooden crest. Her face was a deep shade of red for some reason and wound up so tight that one would assume she swallowed a lemon.

"But I did do my best! I-I didn't doubt myself as much like usual, and I provided the best support for Ais-san and everyone else! I _was_ scared. So scared that I froze in place and thought about failing everyone, but I still kept my mind focused, and did my best to be confident. I-I had faith in myself. Faith in my own strength! So that's why I-I-I-!" She realized that she was virtually screaming out of the blue at the man, who only watched her impassively.

No matter how flustered she felt from her burst of emotions, she still examined him in search of something so desperately that she would even put her usually timid self out there. Her grip tightened on the wooden crest so hard that the carved wolf symbol was beginning to imprint the soft skin of her hand.

All she wanted was any sign of **him,** then she could finally express her deepest grati-!

"Um…I'm glad that you were able to pull through, Lefiya. As expected of a fellow Level 3 adventurer, but…" Lefiya's heart sank a bit as the man awkwardly laughed and scratched his cheek. "I'm not quite getting why you're telling me all of this."

_'…Oh…' The elf thought in disappointment._

A part of her believed that she'd get the reaction that she wanted, but it seemed that today was not that day. Belief and doubt warred on inside her as her thoughts kept denying her hopes, but her heart said so otherwise.

"R-Right, sorry for springing that on you…" It was hard for her smile to not show shades of her sadness. Having your hopes to high only to have them demolished does that.

"N-No worries, you're probably just tired so take all the time you need."

"I-I will. Take care…" With a halfhearted smile, she waved them goodbye and closed the door.

_'She's probably going to see that damned statue again…' Michael truly hated the thing, but felt a tinge of sadness that Lefiya would seek it out as way to accommodate for the connection that she missed._

"I know why you're being this way, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Harsh." Chirithy facepalmed.

The keyblade master groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "I know, I get that was terrible of me, but I can't afford to bring anymore attention onto myself." He's already dealing with unwanted attention from current status and achievements as an adventurer. Being from another world with his own array of skills and equipment further added to how much of an unknown that he was, which made him that more desirable to the Gods and Goddesses of this world. "Whatever happened during my **Ordeal of the Heart*** stays a secret, including those who just so happened to be there."

That whole month of him taking his self-imposed Mark of Mastery exam in the dungeon yielded him the greatest harvest in the form of his title as Keyblade Master, but it also landed him with so many headaches. His unofficial title and deeds from saving Daedalus street were still fresh in the minds of Orario's citizens. So, imagine if word got out that the persona that he used during that one-month timeframe was trailed back to him.

Add that heap of deeds onto his well-known ones, and he'd be practically fending off more troublemakers or worse.

A memory during his rough **ordeal** two years ago hit him. It was a faint light that glimmered while he fended off the darkness and monsters that filled the dungeon. His constant struggle with the Darkness inside of him was given a brief reprieve thanks to a meek Level 2 Elf, who got separated from Familia, and trapped in the dungeon's middle floors.

That memory was one that he'll keep close to his heart. It was meeting that benefited both him and the elf. One received the budding confidence that she needed to grow into an better version of herself along with reaching the Third Step, and the other unknowingly passed a trial that gave him the reassurance he needed to realize that he'd be a good **teacher** despite being a survivor of a war with too failures to fathom.

It honestly hurt him to feign ignorance towards Lefiya like this, but he really couldn't risk getting too many eyes on him. Especially with Loki being her Goddess, were the elf to slip up, then word of what really happened would spread around like the plague as amusement for the Trickster Goddess. The fact that he's in Hestia's Familia certainly didn't help with that either.

He's already had to delt with the most troublesome Familia around, and that issue had been watching him from the very beginning of his new life in this world. He doesn't need more getting curious and putting his family in danger just to sate it.

Speaking of said _Issue_ …

***Gaaaaaaze~!***

The usual heated glare that he received from the top of Babel was much weaker in comparison to earlier during the day. Meaning that _she's_ currently out and working her shift.

"C'mon… Time to go home…" He pushed the boy up the road. There was no need to be cautious or care, he'd already made feelings to the _Issue_ very clear.

"Michael…?"

"C'mon, Chi, we need to get the lead out! It's rude to keep everyone waiting."

"I know that, but Michael…"

"We're all going to finally be together again, so let's hurry!"

"You're going the wrong way…" Chi groaned.

The man and blank faced boy froze on the spot.

"To reach the café, we're supposed to go northeast of the Tower of Babel."

"I-I knew that." Michael coughed to hide his fluster.

"Oh…really…" Sarcastic wit, Chi's most powerful weapon was used. "Then tell me Wise guy, why are you heading south of Babel?"

"…"

"Not going to defend yourself?"

"…"

"I see, so you're just going to stay quiet and ignore me, huh? Yup, what solid counterargument you have there, Master Michael…" Chirithy continued to prod at their Wielder, receiving no answer from him.

_'As usual, you need someone to help push you in the right direction…' Chi shrugged their shoulder and shook his head._

Walking up to the young man's back, Chi tugged at the ends of his coat and pointed in the direction they _needed_ to take.

"Alright, let's go…for real time."

"Okay…"

For the townsfolk of Orario anyone who stood on the streets that day would bear witness to the unusual scene of a grown man being led by the stubby hand of an adorable cat spirit while a recovering blank faced boy dragged his feet behind them. With someone competent to lead the way, the three managed to make good time on their return home. The old roads and abandoned buildings were nostalgic indicators that home was not too far away.

Northeast Orario's residential area was sparse of any of the other decent luxuries that different locations in the city have. It was where the convoluted streets of Daedalus Street lie along with the Adventurer's Graveyard where many who've lost their lives in the dungeon are laid to rest. The majority of the city's destitute inhabit this portion of the city as they take refuge in Orario's common sites of abandoned buildings. Naturally those in poor living conditions usually turn to crime such was the way of life.

The Hearth's Café wasn't exactly too deep in Northeast Orario, only near the border between the more guarded streets of the city and the wonderful dark streets where anyone can get nicely mug or shivved to death by a desperate thief. Why was the Hestia Familia's home and business established there? Well, besides from those who first established it in the first place, the reasoning went over the heads of so many.

Well, apart from the rapid aggregation of Heartless attracted to Daedalus Street that needed swift extermination, it was still a weird and risky place to start a business. Everyone knew that the success to a good business was location, Location, LOCATION! A location where customers won't have to tense up about ordering a pastry and later getting shaken down for it and the rest of their money.

In all intents and purposes, it shouldn't have worked, but it strangely did. For all intents and purposes there were many reasons why Michael and Hestia settled for the area. Its just that one of those reasons was the amount of breathing room and space to relax without being so close to the busy happenings in the other districts of town.

The sun was beginning to set, and the trio were close to home. By then Bell was out of his trance and now burying his burning face into his hands after Michael and Chi told him what transpired while he was off in his own little world.

"I-I feel so stupid…" Seriously! How could he miss out on the chance to meet a second-class adventurer belonging to the Loki Familia, one of Orario's top dogs, with such an amazing title as the "Thousand Elf"? His blank, unresponsive condition thanks to Eina's scolding (he still shuddered at the horrible memory) must've made him look like an idiot.

"Don't. You were still reeling pretty bad from your little "chat" with Eina. Besides, its nothing to get worked up over, you'll just have to apologize and properly introduce yourself next time." Chi comforted the boy with gentle pats to his leg which Bell appreciated.

Bell's shoulders slumped down. "But still…"

"Bell, you're free to keep worrying about it, but let me ask you something." Michael cut in. "Will making yourself worried sick change what happened?"

"N-No."

"Do you enjoy feeling this bad about yourself?"

"No…"

"Then don't sweat it. When you see Lefiya again, you'll do things right. Nothing good will come out of worrying yourself over nothing." Michael patted the boy's shoulder and strolled a bit ahead of him.

_'T-That's actually a pretty good point…' Bell still beat himself up from embarrassment but realized the truth in his Captain's words and figured that he should heed them._

Wait a moment. The way he spoke of her name held some familiarity in his tone. "Captain, you know someone from the Loki Familia?"

"Pfft!" Michael dryly laughed. "Bud, everyone knows someone from the Loki Familia. There's not a household in Orario, who doesn't know about Finn Deimne the _Braver,_ Riveria Ljos Alf the _Nine Hells,_ Gareth Landrock the _Elgarm_ , and Raul Nord the _High Novice."_

"…Who?" Bell innocently tilted his head.

Exasperatedly sighing, Michael shook his head and whispered. "One day, Raul, one day…"

"Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I meant if you knew the Loki Familia personally?" Bell reiterated.

"Yup."

"Really!? So, you've really met those guys?" Bell excitedly gasped.

_'You technically did too, but you were probably too caught up fighting that Minotaur with your concussion and injured back to notice…' Michael snidely remarked in his head._

"Hey, the Labyrinth City's a big place. You're bound to come across just about anyone on the street if you're lucky enough." It just so happens that Heartless also fill those streets, and its his responsibility to exterminate them with the addition of inadvertently meeting a wide array of colorful characters on the job.

Gulping in anticipation, the boy excitedly stuttered. "S-So, what were they like?"

Michael could basically hear the dripping enthusiasm from those five words alone. Like he guessed, the boy was a clear Hero worshipper. Despite that, he still found his innocent enthuse about wanting to know about the adventurers from the trickster goddess' familia to be quite precious. It certainly was a step up from the ridiculous "Hero + Dungeon + Damsel = Harem" mentality that the boy still seemed to carry (he hoped not).

_"They're a fine group of people, nothing much else beyond that."_

Was what Michael wanted to say. No rose-tinted glasses, no overhyping the Familia up to be these perfectly heroic adventurers. Because at the end of the day, they're just people like anyone else and that shouldn't be cause to put all of them on such a high pedestal. It'll only discourage you from getting to know them beyond their title and reputation. This mindset was something that he (who's still well-known for saving Daedulus among other achievements) and his friend from the Ganesha Familia undoubtedly shared.

All of this wasn't to say that he thought less of the Loki Familia. Like the Ganesha Familia, he actually found them to be a decent group. They weren't as selfless and benevolent as the Keyblade Unions were (before everyone was fighting and killing each other over Lux), but he's come to lower his expectations ever since settling down in Orario. The Loki Familia wasn't his favorite Familia outside of his own, but it was one that he'd vastly prefer than a certain other top-ranking Familia in the city.

At least the Loki Familia members could get along without threatening to kill each other.

Now back to the boy eagerly awaiting his response. He _could_ speak his honest thoughts about the familia, but he still needed to be punished so…

"Meh, I'll tell you another time…"

"E-Eh? But why?"

"Because…"

"Because?"

"Just because~!" Michael flippantly waved his hand over his shoulder.

"…"

"Heh." His back might've been to the boy, but the young man can clearly picture the annoyed pout that he was sporting.

"Honestly, you can be so childish sometimes…" Chi walked beside the man with an amused sigh.

He was neither going to confirm nor deny that statement, the only response he gave was a cheeky grin.

"We're here." Finally, home sweet home.

The two-story building looked just like it was when he had left. From the looks of the wooden "We're closed" door sign with the background of a city and weird "A" shaped tower in the background (a gift from the World's greatest chef), his Goddess and the others must have closed early. Yet there was still activity happening on the main floor since there were amber lights peeking through the edges of the door and shining through the windows.

If he were a betting boy, he would say they were either cleaning things up or…considering that Karen rushed back here before them…

His hand never did get the chance to open the door to find out, or even touch the doorknob for that matter. A sense of deja vu hit the Nineteen-year-old AND his Chirithy. "Make sure to grit your teeth!"

***SLAAAAAM!***

Those words of caution could not have been spoken any more quickly than the jittering door that was flung open and slammed into the wall beside it so hard that splinters flew off it.

Now of course doors don't open by themselves…unless magic was the prime source of it.

"MICHAEL!"

And he highly doubted that a four foot seven Goddess speeding through the air like a white blurred torpedo (or in the words of a familiar Trickster Goddess: a bitch missile) would count as it. Though any mistaken relation would be forgiven based on how bizarre it looked when she slammed into the taller man's chest.

Years of getting glomped and dive bombed in the solar plexus have honed Michael's body to the dangerous antics of his Goddess. The best it did was knock a bit of the air out of him. The warmth of four limbs entangling him into a full body hug brought a smile to his face.

"You're back! You're finally back!"

Inclining his head forward, he was met with two bright blue eyes staring into his own with an even brighter smile to follow it.

"I'm home, My Goddess." Michael fondly caressed his Goddess's head.

Luxuriantly enjoying the young man's touch, Hestia nuzzled her head to his chest and happily giggled. "Welcome home!" Her laughter ceased and became a relieved sigh once the man adoringly wrapped his arms around her into a gentle hug. Contentment was writ on both of their faces as the two embraced. Though days have passed from their separation it was clear that it had only made their hearts that much fonder for their reunion.

This couldn't be any more obvious for the hugging pair…and the many around them who watched. Precisely Bell and Chi; with the former a bit uncomfortable with the amount of affection being displayed by the pair, and the latter being slightly impatient with the amount of time they're PTA is taking up.

"Ahem!" Chi coughed.

"Oh, Chi, you're back too? I'm so glad~!" Refusing to release her full-bodied hug on her Familia's captain, Hestia gushed over the Chirithy in the middle of her prolonged embrace.

"Good evening, Miss Hestia. I'm happy to be back and see that you're healthy and brimming with so much vigor…" Chi then muttered. "A little too much vigor to my liking," But soon enough the Dream Eater became cheerful at the reunion. "But it's truly wonderful to be with you all again."

"That stupid pig and rude wolf girl didn't give you any trouble, right?" Hestia angrily pouted. "Just tell me if they are! If I hear word that they're working my adorable, precious Chi into the ground, then I'll-I'll-!"

"There…there…"

"Nfufufu~!"

Before the Hearth Goddess could go off the handle, she was easily placated by Michael rubbing the naked back of her dress and her head. It was like watching a very nice cat getting pet.

To Bell, he's still getting used to watching the amount of affection shared between his Captain and his Goddess. Not that he had anything against it, he's still hoping to one day experience a type of love like theirs after rescuing a damsel (hold on didn't he already do that…?) and forming his own harem. He's even using the glimpses of what he sees of his Captain's relationships with both Goddess Hestia and Iris for future reference in the future for when he'll inevitably have to do so too.

Its just that…he could _never_ see himself date a Goddess. He slightly frowned; its not like he was against the idea since the Goddess that come to the Lower Worlds are beautiful, but he just couldn't see himself as worthy enough to earn a divine being's favor. Plus, compared to his lifespan which might span to at least a century, that's a mere wink in the immortal life of a deity.

He wouldn't fathom the unsurmountable strength needed to realize that you'd have to leave your loved one behind, and they can't join you. That's why he found his Captain to be such an amazing person. He'd obviously had to be aware of this, and yet, he's still openly affectionate with Goddess Hestia.

To be able to continue with such an inevitable tragedy at the end of the road, Bell just couldn't find that completely and absolutely astonishing…and a little sad.

Its truly this sadness that prevents him from even considering the notion of personally falling for a Goddess.

"Ah, Bell-kun! You're back too! Welcome home~!"

The boy shook himself off. These thoughts weren't suited for this moment of happiness. The happiness that had filled the hole in his heart after the passing of his grandfather. The happiness of being welcomed back into a warm home with a motherly smile to top off the end to a hectic day.

"Y-Yes, Kami-sama. I'm home!" The boy's bright smile gave Hestia's a run for her money. No, wait, it was making the Goddess shed tears.

"Uwaaaaaah! So pure! M-Michael, i-its too bright! N-Next time he goes into the dungeon, make sure to go with him and protect him no matter what!" She wailed.

"Hehehe…there, there…" The scene was almost comical as Hestia's crying was peering out while under the gentle ministrations of Michael's petting.

"B-Bell, you sure that you don't want to stay and work with me and Iris at the Café? You're chances of dying won't be so high anymore. That way someone as pure as you won't be taken from us!" The boy tiredly laughed. He had received that offer multiple times during his stay in the Hestia Familia. Now obviously, he'd politely turn down each offer as he was very adamant about making his dream come true through braving the Dungeon.

He still wants to save a damsel, get himself a harem and above all else...

He looked to the gentle man lovingly rubbing Hestia's back.

Become a hero.

Though he felt that there was an addition to his desires after today. His horrifying and exhilarating fight with the Minotaur came to mind. It might have been a dud for his first adventure, but…at that moment… **he didn't want to lose to it.**

It was a feeling that he didn't dwell on as he supposed that it was simply a lingering feeling from that situation.

"Well…" Michael drawled on with a cheeky smile. "I doubt that he'll have much choice on whether or not he'll be staying to work in the café considering what he pulled today."

Bell's back straightened as his entire body went stiff.

_'O-Oh, right…my punishment…' Bell winced as the weight of what's about to happen finally hit him in the face._

"Hm? Did something happen today at the dungeon?" Hestia tilted her head.

"Yeah…" Michael strangely did the same. "Didn't Karen tell you what happen when she returned?"

"Nope, Kare-tan only told us that you're back from your mission, so we've been getting everything ready until you returned."

"Oh, really?" Michael wore a knowing smile and rubbed his chin. "I see…"

"Now then…" With a lot of effort on her part, Hestia unlatched her arms and legs from Michael's upper body and landed on her bare feet (something that still befuddles Michael). A cheshire smile found itself on her face as she turned back to the open door and screamed. "Hey, Iris-chan, guess what! My "Lover's Intuition" was 100% right after all~! Haha!"

Confused by the woman's gloating, Chi raised one stubby hand over their mouth and whispered to his Keyblade Wielder. "Wait, wasn't it called the "Mother Hen" Intuition before we left?"

Michael leaned down and whispered, "It was, but let's not bring up why she changed it. She looks happy."

"Of course, that'd be you're main priority, Michael." Chirithy groaned in a mixture of exhaustion and…pride with their keyblade wielder's willingness to preserve the happiness of others yet again.

Ask (or rather obnoxiously scream) and you shall receive. First to arrive at the front door was Iris, who tiredly sent Hestia an unamused half-lidded stare. "Yes, yes, you were right, Hestia-sama. Forgive me for doubting your "Godly Intu-"."

"Ah, "Lover's Intuition!""

"Yes, you're "Lover's Intuition…" Iris rolled her eyes, then widely smiled. "And I suppose to get that 100% chance of success, we had to constantly waste ingredients for three full sized cakes and give them away for free on the days when the Captain was still absent."

"WHAT!?" Chi, the financial advisor and distributor to the Hestia Familia gasped in sheer shock.

"Iris-chan, you tattletale!" Hestia hissed at the Cows woman then frantically turned to Chi. "Nononono! It's not that bad, Chi-chan. I only wanted to bake a perfect cake for Micha-everyone once they've returned! Besides, we only had to give away the one that were good enough, the other attempts that weren't perfect were thrown out."

Everyone froze, including Iris.

"Hestia-sama…there were other cakes?" Iris's eye twitched.

"Yep, but don't worry, they didn't meet the standards that would fulfill the tastebuds to my adorable Children so I made sure to throw them out." Hestia proudly puffed out her chest.

"…How many?"

"Hm?"

"How many cakes did you go through before finally getting it right?" Chirithy decided to chip, their cute voice now cold and devoid of any mercy.

"U-Um…" Hestia shook under the intense gaze of the Chirithy. Watching a full-grown Goddess wilt under the sheer pressure exuded by the smaller creature would be comical were it not for the fact that it was also quite pitiful to watch. "T-Five Cakes! About five cakes!"

"My Goddess…" Michael frowned, the link shared between their Hearts allowed him to discern panic from her. Not to mention, he felt a sharp dread arose when she immediately changed her answer.

Hestia noticed this and fiddled around with one of her twin tails, timidly. "Urp…ten…"

Everyone's eyes widened, save for Michael's and Chi's.

"Hestia…"

"Eeek!" Hestia flinched. She knew how the man was with speaking her name to her in private. Any other time it would thrill her to her beloved call her name, but now was not that time. Because it also meant he was serious and unwilling to overlook this. "T-T-Twenty…"

"…" Darkness enshrouded, Chi's vacant expression that terrified Hestia and the others to vary extents.

"I'm sorry!" Hestia squealed. There was only one way to appease the dominant adorable figure in their household. She would have to bust out her friend's ultimate technique. Falling to her knees and slamming her head to the ground, Hestia thus performed the Take-mikazuchi brand dogeza. "Forgive me! Forgive me! I apologize with all my Heart!"

"…It's okay, Goddess Hestia…" Chi patted the Goddess's head. "I'm not mad at you."

"R-Really, Chi-chan?" Hestia raised her tear stained face.

"Of course. I'm sure that tons of Valis might have been wasted, but there's no worry. Michael's mission would rack up more Valis and then some. So those twenty wasted cakes won't matter." Chi blissfully smiled.

"C-Chi-chan…" Hestia gasped; it was like she looking at an adorable angel.

"Because you're allowances from working the café will be put to paying off the cost for ingredients that you wasted along with any worn cooking equipment that were the victims to your wasteful cooking." Chi cruelly stated with some cute laughter that it left Hestia with her jaw to hit the ground.

"W-What?"

"You heard me."

"NOOOOO!" The Goddess wailed and tugged at her whipping twin tails. "But I can't entertain myself if that happens!"

"Well, I sure hope that you enjoy café work until you pay it off because that's exactly the point." Chi huffed and shook their head. They've already figured out the total estimate of the Goddess' wasteful…everything involving the cakes. This was part of the reason why they were reluctant to leave for the Guild, you look away once and Hestia will probably go overboard with the budget unsupervised.

"Captain." Iris meekly walked over to Michael with an uncertain smile before dropping it to bow her head. "I'm so sorry!"

"T-That's a…new way to say hello…" Michael bitterly laughed with Bell beside him, the boy was willing to divert his attention from the terrifying Chirithy dolling out punishment to his Goddess.

"Please forgive me for not doing a better job of keeping an eye on Hestia-sama. I only knew about the three perfect cakes; I had no idea that she was wasting twenty more until just now."

"I-It's fine, no need to get so worked up. Plus, she's already paying for it so don't beat yourself up over it." Michael encouragingly placed a hand on Iris's shoulder and grinned. "Anyways, I'm back, Iris. Nice to see you again."

A slight blush graced the brunette Cows' cheeks as she returned the gesture with a small smile. "Y-Yes, Captain. W-Welcome home."

Poking his head past Michael, Bell shyly waved to the woman. "Hello, Bennett-san."

"Oh, B-Bell!" Quickly composing herself, Iris coughed into her hand and graced the boy with a warm smile. "Its good to see you back safe and sound."

"Thanks." Bell nervously scratched his head.

"Well, he was relatively safe and in the clear when he was brought back from the dungeon." Michael chimed in.

"Brought? Did something happen?" Iris looked between the guilty looking Bell and the wistfully smiling Michael.

"You could say that, but before we get into any of that…hey, Karen!" Both Iris and Bell turn back and followed their Captain's line of sight to spot the stoic raven-haired girl peeking her head out the door. She quietly examined the entirety of her Familia without making a peep.

There also seemed to be something around her lips.

"Welcome back, Master…Bell." Karen curtly nodded to them both, she would have done the same for Chi, but wisely kept to herself lest she bring the Chirithy's wrath upon her.

"H-Hi, M-Morris-san." Bell timidly waved to the girl, remembering his Captain's advice, he decided to try and push himself to better know the girl. Ah! She waved back. He internally gave a fist pump at the bit of progress made. Sure, he was a little worried with why she stared intently at him a let out a huge sigh, but he such doubts on the backburner and decided to focus on the positives.

Meanwhile, Hestia was still trying to weasel her way out from the almighty Chirithy's wrath.

"D-Do I still have to pay for the fourth cake? B-Because my "Lover's Intuition" worked today, we didn't have to go ahead with giving it away."

"Only because Karen returned and told you that Michael was back."

"Guh!" The Goddess flinched and whimpered. "B-But still, since its not wasted. It technically doesn't count if we use it to celebrate, right? I promise that it's the best tasting cake you will ever eat!" She totally wasn't just saying this just to spare herself the extra hours that she'll have to work.

Raising an eyebrow, Chirithy looked just about ready to begrudgingly agree with her. Everyone was finally back so a bit of leisure (and mercy) wouldn't hurt. Until Michael pointed something out that made the Goddess prostrating before them freeze up in terror.

"Hey, Karen what's that you got around your lips?"

"…Nothing." The Raven-haired girl swiftly turned her head away from the others as beads of sweat poured down her forehead.

"…Karen, look over here…" Iris' tone of voice was frigid when she strode towards the young girl and imposingly turned her head over to them all by the chin. Blue frosting and based on the deep blue coloration of her lips and tongue, she must have eaten A LOT of it.

Iris recognized the frosting color, she had to because she had to give them away for free for most of the week. So, with a strained smile, the Cows woman gave the already shaking Karen and lusterless, cold glare. "How much?"

"…?" Karen gulped, and innocently tilted her head.

"Oh no, there's point in playing dumb because I'm way past indulging you. Now. **How much?"**

"…" Well there went the girl's only trump card. All she could do was stay silent and hope that the Cows woman's ire would tide ov-.

Iris' glare hardened. "No supper for a week."

"One slice!" Karen cursed herself for being week but found that it was worth it to avoid the hell of starvation.

"One slice?" Iris narrowed her eyes and received a nod.

"Phew!" Michael had no idea how long he'd been holding his breath throughout that exchange. "So, if its only one slice then it can't be too bad. It's not like I mind her having a bit before the rest of us."

"Y-Y-Yeah, you even said so yourself that Kare-tan went the whole day without a filling meal, Iris-chan!" Hestia forced her laughter to poorly hide her concerned self-preservation.

"R-Right, I-I'm sure that Morris-san must have been hungry so she couldn't help but take a bit to enjoy herself." Bell did his best to back up Karen. How could he not after she pulled him out of the dungeon and saved his life (probably along with the other two who were present)? So as a way to get closer to her, he'll have her back and save her from an admittedly scary Iris.

Yet, the girl looked more guilty from his comment. D-Did he say something wrong?

"Bring it out then."

"…?" Karen's eyes widened for a split second.

"The entire cake. I want to see how much _one_ slice for you really is. Do it."

"…" Lowering her head in defeat, Karen's hunched form retreated to the depths of the café, and through a prolonged ten seconds of silence, she returned holding a big platter with a single slice of cake on it. No one had any words. It had already been obvious from their blank expressions that the answer had already came to them save for one who was in complete denial.

"H-Hey, Kare-tan…I'm pretty sure that, Iris-chan told you bring the rest of it. Not just a slice."

"…This is it."

"Eh? N-No, it isn't. There should be a whole cake, well, apart from the slice you took, but still! I'm certain there should be more!" The poor Goddess was already devolving into shouting to hide her disbelief.

"…I'm sorry."

"…Eh? Sorry for what? Do you seriously mean to tell me that you ate everything but that single slice!?"

"…Yes."

"…" Hestia shakily turned to an impassive Chi, who's arms were crossed. "I-It might not be the whole cake, but this much ought to count, rig-?"

"No."

The sight of seeing their Goddess sorrowfully fall to her knees and sobbing in defeat was just pitiful. So pitiful that everyone just decided to move things along inside their home before they get cold (or embarrassed). Iris was the first to enter with Karen closely following behind by her tugged ear. Next was an exhausted Bell and Chirithy. Finally, in his arms, Michael carried their wailing Goddess and slowly closed the front door behind them.

"T-This day can't possibly get any worse!" Hestia sobbed into his shoulder.

"Bell fought a Minotaur on the Fifth floor today." So, Michael decided to rip that band-aid before things started to settle to avoid disrupting the peace of the evening later down the road.

""WHAT!?""

Both Hestia and Iris's voices filled the Hearth Café that night along with the multitude of apologies that flew out of Bell's mouth. To say that Michael's welcome back dinner wasn't hectic would be dramatically underselling things.

But that was to be expected coming from an unorthodox Familia as this one.

* * *

"So that's what happened?" Michael inquired from his seat in Bell's room as the Magic stone lamp illuminated the spartan space around them.

It was nightfall, and everyone else retired to their respective rooms save for Michael and Hestia, who took this reprieve from their chaotic dinner to discuss the newest member to their Familia's punishment.

"Y-Yeah…" Bell groaned from the added pressure of laying on his grumbling, empty tummy, and the weight of his miffed Goddess on his naked back, who was currently updating his status.

With Iris being the one responsible for cooking that night, she decided to give her own brand of punishment to the boy by barring him from tonight's dinner. Though a tad much, she justified it with saying that a single night of starvation is leagues better than an outright death that he would surely have gotten had things played out differently today. It was easy to tell that the Cows lady wasn't amused with the boy's recounted deeds in the dungeon. She was relieved most of all, but that didn't change the fact that he ventured deeper than he was supposed to, and **willingly** continued to fight a Minotaur than escape.

Hestia's reaction to the tale was met with conflicting emotions.

She was _happy_ that her Child had returned home safely and in one piece after that horrible experience.

She was _disappointed_ with him for disobeyed the warnings of his seniors and Guild Advisor to not go any deeper into the dungeon.

She was _proud_ that he was so willing to help someone so selflessly like the good boy he was.

She was _furious_ when she found out that Loki's kids were the cause of the Minotaur rising to the upper floor AND being partly responsible for saving his life.

And to top it all off, she was _speechless_ when she saw the updated results of the boy's Falna. Now obviously he faced a Minotaur and lived to tell, so that factored into it, but that tidbit paled in comparison to something else that popped up on the boy's status.

This didn't make sense, Hestia thought to herself and questionably looked to Michael, who shot her a look of question.

"I'm done, Bell-kun." She patted his back and hopped off of him, so she can hurry over to Michael's side and show him what she's looking at.

"…!" Michael's eyes widened from the same shock that Hestia experienced and looked to her to find that she was looking at him expectantly. He gave his answer with a slow shake of his head and took the page from his Goddess to double check things.

Confused, Bell looked between the two worriedly. It wasn't the first time that someone other than his Goddess checked his Falna, but this scenario felt different and tense. During the update to his stats, he went ahead with telling his Captain everything about his dream and what he experienced. The three weapons, the Heartless, the stained glass depicting various animals, and the apparitions of his grandfather, Goddess, and some boy (he omitted the boy's details as he was still unsure if he was truly who he thought he was).

After gathering the courage, he asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yep. Everything is just…fine." Michael kept looking from the status page then back to Bell, then back onto the status page along with Hestia by his side.

It must be something big if they're that engrossed in it. "C-Can I see my growth?"

"No."

"But-!"

"You'll see it after your punishment is over after the next fours days." Michael decided to get this elephant in the room addressed before talking about the other one. "You disobeyed our warnings and ran into a Minotaur because of it. You chose to fight it, and had I not been at the guild to heal you, your injuries would have been more debilitating. Bell, you were kind and courageous in helping someone in need, but that doesn't excuse from the consequences."

Bell solemnly nodded.

"So, from now until the fifth day of this week, you're to work at the Café with Iris and our Goddess. You're not allowed to enter the dungeon, any attempts to do so behind my back will prolong to ban. Training is also banned. Until the fifth day, the day of the Monster Feria, you are to devote yourself to working in Hearth Café as one of its faithful employees, am I clear?"

"Yes, sir."

Watching the boy deflate under the heavy punishment wasn't easy for Michael, especially Hestia, who wanted to say something but had to begrudgingly agree with the words of her Familia's captain.

"Good." Michael rolled his shoulder and folded Bell's Falna sheet into his pocket. "Now we've gotten the gritty part of this conversation out of the way. So now would be best to talk about those weird dreams of yours." Bell's body straightened up at this.

"Thank goodness, something less painful to endure listening to…" Hestia let out a sigh of relief and leant against Michael's shoulder as she happily watched in silence.

"Before we begin…" Michael extended his hand outward much to Bell's confusion before in a flash of light, an all too familiar blade materialized in the man's grip. "I'm sure that you're already aware that is the Keyblade. A weapon known for dispelling the Heartless, yes?"

Bell excitedly nodded. He was starting to like where this was going. Finally, he was going to get some answers, and get the chance to ask if he could possibly wield one as well.

"Good, but you've been living under the same roof as me and the others, so it's a given that you'd know this barebones info. To elaborate further, the Keyblade is a weapon that chooses its wielder. Only those who possess the strongest of Hearts are deemed worthy to wield them. Now hearts play a bigger role for the Keyblade." Michael then coughed into his freehand. "Now when I speak of Hearts, I mean the metaphysical one, not the literal organ."

Bell nodded, he got gist of it after a while of being in the Familia.

"A Heart is what comprises what a being **is.** They hold everything from your sense of identity, memories, strength of will, aspirations, and dreams. Without your Heart, you wouldn't exactly be you anymore."

"Um…" Bell quirked his head in deep thought, trying to grasp the concept.

"Okay, let me explain. Lets say your Heart was taken from you from the Heartless, you're Heart would be submerged in Darkness and lose all of its individuality to be assimilated into Darkness. You would thus in turn become a Heartless. Now the body and soul left behind will no longer function, you'd essentially be an empty husk of who you used to be."

Michael forewent explaining about the Nobodies. That would be discussed on a later day. Besides, back then they were aimless husks of victims with **no** directing force to lead them. So there was no cause for rush to inform everyone about an enemy that doesn't possess the drive to do any harm.

"A-Ah…" Bell gulped, that morbid way to explain things, but he got the picture now. "So, my Heart is vital to who I am?"

"Yup. Everyone needs a heart no matter who they are. Whether it be humans or…" He gestured to Hestia smiling and waving at him. "Gods and Goddesses." He comfortably placed his hand over his chest. "We exist because of them, and they allow us to bond to so many others all around us. Giving us strength beyond our measure of comprehension and a better understanding of the world around us."

"Whoa…" Bell copied the man's gesture. He had no idea that this talk of following his Heart was that serious.

"With that out of the way, it'll be easier to describe what you dreamt, no, what you experienced…" Michael pointed at boy and chuckled. "You my friend have experienced your Dive into the Heart."

"D-Dive to the Heart?" Bell repeated, he certainly did feel like he was diving while also rising at the same time.

Affirming the term with a nod, Michael continued. "It's a dream where you're taken to you Station of Awakening, in this case your heart. Should one enter their own heart, revelations of their true nature will be known to themself and the Keyblade that will soon come to them."

"Right…right…" Bell nodded then stopped. He blinked and blinked once more. "What!?" K-Keyblade? So that dream of his actually meant that he'll be able to wield one as well?

"Shh!" Michael shushed the boy, there were others in their home, who were trying to rest after all.

"S-Sorry…" The boy whispered and blushed a bit as his Goddess laughed at his enthusiastic reaction. Leaning in, Bell muttered. "So, I-I really will get a keyblade?"

"Hard not to deny that possibility. From what you told me, the stages of your dreams were the same process that I and the others experienced. Each person's dive to the heart is different yet the same. Only you could have dreamt up those individuals, who gave you your answer because you're heart recognizes them to be so important that they're the reason you're the person you are today." Michael explained.

"Awwww~! And you think that I'm just as important as your Grandpa, Bell-kun! That's so sweet!" Hestia cooed as the white-haired adventurer did his best to hide his embarrassment from the two adults in front of him. He didn't think the dreams were that serious!

"Now the Dive to the Heart doesn't just happen for everybody. To even be acknowledged that you're worthy of the Keyblade there are two methods to receive one. Either through the Ritual of Bequeathal or simply possessing a strong and pure heart to be deemed worthy." The man raised one finger. "The act of bequeathing involves a Keyblade Master passing on the ability to wield and summon a Keyblade to the others they deem as worthy." Spinning _Fenrir_ in his hands, Michael carefully held the blade and stuck out its hilt to Bell, who was confused with whether he should touch it.

" _In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking...its wielder you shall one day be."_

Recalling his keyblade back to the depths of his heart, Michael playfully jazzed his hands. "The bam! If whoever was holding the keyblade possessed a strong heart and it didn't dematerialize from their hand, then they're automatically worthy to call one of their own."

Pointing his thumb to the door, he chuckled. "This was actually how Iris and Karen got the ability to call their own. Though Iris's was more accidental than Karen's."

"Hm?" The boy made his confusion known with a furrowed brow.

"Lets just say that back then I possessed the strength of a potential Keyblade Master but wasn't one officially. I still could have bequeathed someone on my own, but since I was still inexperienced, I could have accidentally passed the power onto others, who touched my keyblade. Iris was that very lucky person." Michael coughed, still a bit embarrassed at the memory of his screw up.

"Hehehe~! You should have seen him, Bell-kun, he was beating himself up for ages for letting that happen." Hestia poked at the man's cheek much to fake chagrin.

"Yeah, yeah…" Give him a break, he was still processing (even to this day) the fact that the one World was destroyed and split into countless bordered worlds as the only survivor of a war that supposedly happened centuries ago. Of course, he wouldn't have his head completely straight back then to notice that.

"So…you think that you might have accidentally bequeathed to me the power?" Bell asked.

"Nope. Not a possibility anymore. After getting things straight by officially acquiring my title as Keyblade Master," Well, he underwent an ordeal and was deemed worthy of the title by basically the World and Chirithy, who was a living encyclopedia to all knowledge on Keyblade Wielders and their history, "I was able to build up my mental fortitude so the same mistake wouldn't happen again. All masters do this to avoid any strangers from walking up and touching their keyblades in order to be worthy. No, only those I willingly bequeath the blade to will possess the chance to receive the power."

"I-I see…" Bell nodded and rubbed his chin. "So how was I able to do the Dive to my heart if I wasn't bequeathed?"

"Probably the same method that I got mine." Michael patted his heart and laughed. "We possessed strong and pure hearts to be chosen by the very World itself to wield a keyblade."

"Huh?"

"Now I don't want to go into details about what I meant by the "World" since as your new Master, I'll have all the time to teach you about it. However, just know that a force out there is responsible for deeming whether an individual is worthy enough to wield one. Now usually its main demographic of targets are children since they possess purest of hearts."

_'It was also the rarest of methods…well, considering how many pure hearted children there were…20% would have been rare back then.' Michael thought. Now, the rate should be extremely low after the cataclysmic catastrophe of the war revealed to the splintering World what have too many Keyblade Wielders could do._

"Pure hearts?" Bell repeated in awe. So, he was actually chosen? He was getting giddy from the fact that it sounded like those stories he grandfather read to him about heroes being chosen by legendary weapons of eld.

Michael then leant forward and tapped Bell's chest. "Unlike bequeathing this form of receiving the power is much more concrete. It's basically assured that you'll receive your keyblade. Save for the fact that you won't know _when_ you'll receive it."

"Huh?"

"It took Iris's keyblade about a month to appear." And it was a huge surprise since no one expected it to happen at the first place. "Karen's took three months…" Michael recollected then pointed to himself. "While mine…well, lets just say that after my dream, my keyblade appeared the day after."

"R-Really?"

"Fast am I right? Well, I was pretty much at the ripe age of 10 at the time, so my heart couldn't have been any purer than that. It was a blessing…" And a **curse.** "From then on, my childhood wasn't as peaceful as it once was."

"So, since I'm young and naturally chosen by the…" Bell shot up two air quotes. "World…will that mean I'll get my Keyblade early?"

"Like I said you won't know the _when_. It'll happen when it happens." Grunting as he stood up, Michael patted his legs and stretched. "You'll have oodles of time to figure all of this stuff out. Since now you're my apprentice."

"Really?"

"What? You actually thought I was going to leave you to figure things out by yourself without any help? Things aren't that drastic in your life to do that. That's why you're in the Hestia Familia." Michael chuckled.

"Here, you're safe and nurtured to grow and develop into who you want to be." Hestia shot Bell another one of her motherly smiles and placed a warm hand to her chest. "There's no need to feel that you're on your own with all of us here to carry a part of your burden. That's because…that's what a family does."

"…!" Bell's eyes began to get misty.

"And to make things official…" Michael snapped his fingers at the boy with a grin. "Bell Cranel, from this day forward, you are to be my apprentice! I will teach you all that I can about the Keyblade, the World, the heart's nature, and secrets of yourself that you aren't even aware of. This training won't be easy and the path to Mastery is one paved with the hardships of Light and Darkness. Do you accept?"

Sniffling, Bell wiped away at the tears pooling in his eyes as his nodded way faster than ever. "Y-Yes!"

"Then starting now, I am your Keyblade Master!"

"O-Okay!" Bell joyously smiled, the tears didn't stop though.

"Good…" Michael reached back to the boy's desk and held out a tissue box. "…And here…"

The boy thanked the man and loudly blew his nose into the many tissues while his Goddess placated him with a comforting rub to the back. Bell knew he looked pathetic, but he didn't care. Finally, he was acknowledged by a hero like his Captain to train under him, and he learned that he was chosen to wield a Keyblade the same as him and his two other seniors. Today might have been one of the unluckiest days of his life, but it was worth it knowing that it led to **this.**

"Now of course learning in itself is a privilege and it could just as easily be taken away, so you also have to wait until the four days are up before I could teach you." Michael chuckled.

O-Oh. Bell slumped down in his bed. P-Perhaps he shouldn't have celebrated too early.

"M-Michael! Don't get his hopes only to break them down that quickly!" Hestia scolded.

"Heh~!" The Keyblade Master sported a cheeky grin. "You'll still get to learn under me but use these four days of work to reflect. Not just on your punishment, but on anything that catches your attention. All signs of a healthy learning mind are evident by a nice sense of curiosity."

_'So, I'm essentially learning while also getting punished…?' Bell scratched his head. 'But wasn't I barred from being taught to…and…gah!'_

"Don't think to hard." Michael laughed at the boy's clear distraught. "Besides, I believe it'll be a great time to use these days until the Monster Feria to kick back and really think about things…for everyone to _think_ on things…" For a moment, Michael's eyes looked downcast. Of course, Bell didn't catch this with him being too caught up in his own head.

Hestia though…

"Michael?" The goddess walked up to the man and worriedly held his hand.

Shaking his head, he tried and failed to dispel his Goddess's worries with a sad smile. "N-No, it's nothing, My Goddess. I'll be sure to tell you my thoughts on something pertaining to this…" He pulled out Bell's folded Falna sheet from his pocket. "While we're waiting for our guest tonight."

"A-Alright. But promise me that you won't stay up in your head for too long, okay?"

"…I only promise to do my best."

_"…Liar…"_

"Hm?"

"N-Nothing~!"

For a split second, Michael could have sworn that he heard his cheery goddess mutter something but shrugged it off.

"Well, go and have yourself a good night's sleep, Bell. After today, you definitely need it." Michael began his departure from his room.

"Sleep well, Bell-kun, and make sure to wake up bright and early! W-We'll have to work doubly hard for the sake of the café…and my personal funds…" Hestia cried to herself as she failed to convince Chi to renege his decision.

"Right. Good night, Kami-sama and Cap-Master." Bell bowed to the both of them and waved good night with the Captain and Goddess pair doing the same.

""Good Night, Bell.""

With a click of the doorknob, Bell was left on his own to exhaustedly collapse into his bed. Today was…overwhelming to say the least, but he wasn't wholly ungrateful for it. In fact, he absolutely grateful for the events that transpired save for his multiple punishments. He saved a damsel, fought a Minotaur (and while he technically didn't win, he still got to live and tell the tale), and now he's finally going to get a Keyblade of his own.

He held hand up into the air, grasping for the imaginary blade that he used in his dream. Hoping that it could also summon the Keyblade that'll choose him. It was in vain, but he intently kept it up as a flood of unanswered questions began to fill his head.

Sure, he was worthy to receive a Keyblade, but could he be worthy to learn under his new Master?

Why was he chosen? Did it mean that he truly was a kid at heart (despite technically still being a growing pre-teen)?

Will he really be able to befriend Karen? He promised to do better and try harder, but the question still lingered in his mind.

Did something happen with his stats? Was it something bad? What will happen to him?

Yet the question that was on his mind the most was…

Who did that voice belong too?

…Shoot! He should have asked his Master what that voiceless voice from the long sword was so he can confirm whether or not his head made it up while he was trying to avoid getting obliterated by the Minotaur.

No, he'll have time for that later… He curiously looked to the long sword that's hung up on the hook attached to his door one last time before delving to his real question.

"That voice. I've been hearing it more lately after my Dive to the Heart. Who's voice could it be?" Now his Master did say that everyone experienced a Dive to the Heart and would have heard a voice, but for Bell, he felt that it was important to gloss over. He didn't know why, but it was just a feeling that Heart couldn't ignore.

Not to mention that boy who appeared in his dreams after he answered the apparitions of his Grandfather and the Goddess's questions. His appearance looked exactly like his Master, but…that doesn't make sense. How would he know how his Master looked as a kid?

Not to mention that town and those animals on the stained glass…wait, did his Master even talk about that? Bell never went into detail about the town, but he was very clear about the images on the platforms. Did his master just decide not to tell him about it…? No, he shouldn't be so quick to think like that.

He probably just forgot to mention it.

***KNOCK!* *KNOCK!***

"Hm?" Picking himself up from his bed, the boy answered his door and looked out to the long hallway leading to the many other closed rooms on the second floor. Based on the lights peeking out from the door that leads to the stairs, he assumed that his new Master and the Goddess were downstairs discussing something.

"Hello?" Bell quietly called out and looked around. There was no sign of anyone. The time it took for them to knock and retreat was incredibly fast. Just as he was about to give up and return to his room, he noticed a plate carrying two banana-nut muffins near the door along with a card.

Now obviously, Bell's mouth watered as his favorite treat was presented to him. His punishment of no dinner was getting to him, but before he chowed down, he picked up the card and read it.

_[I'm glad that you're okay, -K]_

Piecing things together, a smile tugged at Bell's lips. Well, at least one of his questions were answered tonight. Now he's sure that he'll definitely befriend her.

"Thank you." He quietly whispered and backed up into his room before anyone noticed him smuggling in the treats.

Despite the fact that there was actually one silver eyed girl watching the entire scene play out from the crack of her bedroom door. Being the true culprit for the appearance of the muffin's she let out a relieved sigh and put on a small smile at her success.

Thus, was the end of another hectic day for the Hestia Familia…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Guess what day it is (02/17/2020)! That's right its my B-day! So I decided that it was about time to drop another chapter on all of you to celebrate!
> 
> I hope that you all enjoyed it, and I probably won't go into detail about what I wanted to say in the Author Notes until the Interlude, so I'll just say this.
> 
> No, this story doesn't have Reincarnation and Bell isn't the reincarnation of some Keyblade Wielder from the past. So, the mystery is still going strong.
> 
> Well, its been a ball writing this 14,000 word chapter, but I'll leave you guys to enjoy yourselves and have a wonderful day! I'm Out so Peace Out!


	8. Interlude

_**Bell Cranel** _

**Level 1** **  
** **Strength:** H102 – G224 **  
Defense:** I85 – H156 **  
Dexterity:** I58 – H189 **  
Agility:** H150 – F310 **  
Magic:** I0

**Skill**   
**[Awakening of the Blessed Key]: Unlocks the user's true potential, which is found within them should they possess a strong "Heart". Moderate Growth Acceleration. Boosts offensive and magical parameters (Pending).**

**[Ephemeral Shadow]: In response when the user is in peril, a shade will step in to lend their aid. Rate of activation decreases with prolonged or frequent usage.**

**Magic**   
**[…]**

* * *

The captain of the Hestia Familia rubbed his forehead as he gave the Falna sheet one more glance out of the 15 that he's made ever since his Goddess showed it to him. There was just…so much to unpack from this. Discounting the boy's dive to the heart revealing to him glimpses of the Foretellers' sigils, he was just flabbergasted with just about everything right now.

"Still trying to wrack your head around it?" The bittersweet aroma of coffee pervaded his senses and with a quiet *thunk* a wooden mug of it was placed near the crinkled sheet of paper. "Here. You might as well fuel up on caffeine for some extra brain power."

A mirthful laugh crept past Michael's lips as he gratefully took a sip of the toasty beverage. "Thanks, My Goddess."

Well, at least the comfort of being back home in the presence of his jovial Goddess made it manageable for him to process…whatever this sudden new development was. When he was coming home today after finally finding his way o-navigating his way out of the dungeon, he expected some nonsensical chaos to happen during his absence. It was Orario after all…

God, he's really getting used to this erratic world if he's gotten to the point to think of it like that so casually.

"Haaah~!" Sliding onto the seat next to his, the Goddess of the Hearth luxuriantly rested her head on his shoulder. "You're welcome…"

"My Goddess?"

"Shush. I'm refilling my Michael gauge; I've running low ever since you left." Hestia hushed.

_'I missed you too, Hestia.' Michael thought with a smile._

He noticed how exhausted the small woman was and questioned what was wrong before reminding himself about the punishment doled out to her by Chi. He remembered how much of a tantrum she threw at dinner before coming to him for help. She thought that he of all people could change **_Chi's_** mind.

Heh, he wouldn't even entertain such a delusion.

Sure, he was flattered, but even he doesn't push his chances with his Chirithy. A full five years of being a keyblade wielder developing through his bratty childhood phase and puberty whittled down the dream eater's tolerance for nonsense. It just so happens that his beloved Goddess is eternally stuck with some of that immaturity.

"Mumumumu! I don't know why, but I've got this distinct feeling like you're making me of me right now…"

Yet, her immaturity must never be used to underestimate her (along with any other Goddesses…and women in general) since she's scarily able to pick up on things.

"I have no idea what you're talking about?" He slyly smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

"…I can tell you're lying." Her divinity powers were on point today it seemed.

"So?" He grinned as she raised her head to impetuously stick her tongue out at him.

His brief bout laughter lasted for a good clean ten seconds before the pair continued to wait for their "Guest" to arrive. After a few minutes of relative silence, Hestia decided to ask him the question that's been on her mind since Bell's status update.

"Are you sure that Bell-kun was simply chosen?" She really didn't want to doubt the notion that such a pure and sweet boy like her fourth Child wouldn't be found worthy. However, she gleaned from Michael's stunned reaction to the boy's stats and strange dream that there might have been something else that warranted her kernel of doubt.

"Unless someone other than me has bequeathed to him the power, then yeah." Michael held no doubt that the boy wasn't bequeathed anything since he'd have sensed the potential brimming from his heart before now. And he highly doubted that he accidentally bequeathed the power again since he's never willingly done it or considered suggesting the ritual until today. "The chances of him being chosen are higher than him being bequeathed."

Hestia nodded. She saw the logic in that, but that still _didn't_ answer her question. "…Then what are the chances that something besides him being chosen could happen?" She rephrased the question and was met with silence.

A vali for your thoughts, Hestia jokingly thought to herself as she watched the man rub his chin in deep thought.

A deep exhale passed through the Familia Captain as he gave the Falna one more glance. "Like I said before its more than likely that he's been chosen than the alternative, but beyond that I have no clue…"

"There's something more?" She asked.

He nodded. "Probably."

"Is it probably a good thing or a very bad thing?" Hestia worriedly asked, giving glances to the Falna, but most especially searching Michael's furrowed expression for any clear-cut answers, but was only met with the silence of the empty dining room and the strong gust of the night wind brushing against the building.

There was something going on that he couldn't put his finger on. First, the tears that he shared with Bell upon their first meeting, and now the contents of his Dive to the Heart revealing sigils that have long since been forgotten by countless souls who fell with the World into darkness, except for him.

Those sigils can't just be imagined up by his Station of Awakening as a coincidence. Neither Iris nor Karen exhibited the same sigils during their Awakening. Both described their images in explicit detail with each one they saw being that of six kind, heavenly women, the Princesses of Light. So, why did Bell's platform show him sigils that only union keyblade wielders of eld (like him, he thought bitterly) saw?

It was baffling. Whatever is shown in one's Station of Awakening is indicative of their Heart's true nature and feelings. Anything that a person holds dear and important will forever be etched into their Heart. But from the boy's questions, he had no clue on what exactly he saw. So, it just doesn't make sense!

Why does the reminder of his **failure** have to be brought up to him through the dreams of an innocent boy? Has he not been punished enough for failing to save anyone? To know that his efforts despite them being the most he had ever endeavored in his whole life to stop that **War** amounted to nothing. Was this the will of the **World** itself mocking him!?

***Crack!***

"Michael."

A tug on his sleeve, and the man looked down to find his Goddess glowering at him with that concerned look in her eyes. *SIGH!* For every Vali that he'd earn for each thought that traps him in his head, he'd be a billionaire (sadly, he currently holds approximately 250,000,000 valis in the bank).

"S-Sorry, My Goddess, I guess I was just too lost in thought…" He tried laughing it off, but like he'd expected, Hestia was not convinced.

How could she be?

Especially when she had been present to witness every bout of conflict that frenzied on in his head ever since they first established the Hestia Familia together. The only one who came close to identifying the signs of his inner turmoil was Iris, the second person to join their familia. Except in comparison, the Cows woman wouldn't always catch the subtle cues that something's amiss unlike the surprisingly perceptible Goddess of the Hearth.

"You promised…" He winced at how genuinely sad she sounded. He dared not look her in the eye lest his guilt grows more for even his shoulders to carry. Crap, he just realized that he broke cracks into his coffee mug. Now he'll have to buy a new one later…

Grabbing one of the nearby rags, he cleaned his hands and the table of the seeping contents of the cracked mug. The pair of blue sad puppy dog eyes followed him with each wipe he made on the counter.

"Well, I promised to at least try my best." It was a reasonable promise to make after all, he hated making promises that he couldn't keep. Being the one left behind by _two_ of the most important broken **promises** in his life helped shaped that mentality for him.

"Did you?" Her question gave him pause.

He honestly couldn't answer with a "yes" with that much confidence. This wasn't the only time he's been stuck in his head today, and it wouldn't be the last. He's able to pull himself out of falling into a rut because of it, but he couldn't deny that he fell so easily to the inhibitions that plagued his mind.

"No." He quietly muttered, turned to her, and gave an apologetic bow of his head. "This time I _really_ promise to try my best." At his resolute words, Hestia wrapped her arms around his own as tightly as she could.

"Please…" She pleaded, her voice cracking. "Remember you don't have to hold it in, but…you can always come to me if it becomes too much. I _want_ to be there for you as much as you have been there for me." It's not fair if I can't even do my job as your Goddess to help you with the burden you carry, she thought, sorrowfully. They've had this little run around many times, and every time he'd resolutely keep his word and confide in her.

Ever since her fated encounter with him, which began the best years of her life down in the Lower World, Hestia wasn't one to shy away about letting her affection toward her first Child be known. He was brave, selfless, handsome, and kind (and did she forget to mention handsome?). To have found someone like him to be her Child was a blessing.

That's why she was insistent to one day be someone, he would undeniably trust and be dependent on. She admits that she was a "bit" possessive of him back then, but in the end, she desperately wanted to know the reason behind the grief that lied in the young man's eyes. If she could just let her love be known to him, then maybe his sorrow would disappear forever, she once naively thought.

It only took one terrifying close call with a whole pack of loose monsters bizarrely targeting her to finally let her feelings for the man be known.

…And he accepted it. He _accepted_ her. The fatigue and terror of almost getting sent back to the Upper World in the most brutal way imaginable was worth it! Finally! The pure adulation of finally getting to know more of the young man's inner turmoil besides his general duty to face the Heartless could finally be undone with her love.

So, they were happy, and they kept being happy until the flames of their passion eventually calmed down and settled into an amorous comfort between the pair. That was the perfect moment, she thought, now was finally the chance to prove the power of her love and cure him of the venomous dejection that he quietly carries in him.

So, she asked albeit with less fervor than her earlier excitement would warrant. He was reluctant at first, but he pushed himself to open up to her about… ** _everything._** By the end, she was left a crying blubbering mess, a complete opposite to her usual cheery gait. And Michael? He smiled and comforted her in his arms.

Recounting such horrid memories that would best be forgotten without showing a hint of breaking down, she wondered why the young man wasn't as much of a wreck as she was at the time. Then that's when she noticed his smile.

A smile that was worn to comfort her, alone. She reprimanded herself, she was supposed to be the one doing the comfort and now she looked pathetic.

No tears were shed from his eyes; eyes that radiated his utter loneliness. It broke her heart to see the vibrant young man so…resigned to carry that weight. As a Goddess, she doubted that she could carry on if she experienced half of what he's been through (just being told about it left a mess of tears for days afterward). Yet here he was, smiling for her sake and allowing the audacity of her to be the one crying after hearing his tale. The strength of heart that her Child possessed was outstanding.

…Unfortunately, his strength only kept him from breaking, it was not enough to quell the turmoil that he's been unfairly forced to shoulder.

That was the day when Hestia finally realized a truth that forever stained the naïve perception of love that she developed in the Upper World. No matter how much happiness her love could give him, there was no way imaginable for her to soothe ache that was Michael's burdening loneliness and sorrow.

His loss couldn't be mended with honeyed words of romance and empty promises like "things will get better soon" and "as long as we're together, you'll eventually get past it". That would be callous and uncaring of the struggles that he went through.

That was also a wake-up call to how secretly self-serving her intentions were. She was selfishly assuming that his feelings were so easy to grasp and manipulate to better her claim on him as his lover. Such a crude disposition of possessiveness was natural for all deities, but she still couldn't deny how ashamed she was with herself at the time. The pain (hurt) he carries won't vanish or mend through confiding in her.

That was when she herself decided to **better** herself otherwise she'll repeat the same mistake over again.

Because all of that led her to figuring out the cursed knowledge that's been following her these past two years: she couldn't **_help_** him.

The warmth of his hand caressing her arm did break the goddess out of her stupor. He was now looking at her with the very same comforting smile that he's given her numerous times. A smile meant to comfort her and her alone. In the past that would have delighted her to no end, but _now_ it was just a reminder of her role to helplessly witness the suffering of her beloved.

"My Goddess, I truly promise to air my troubles out to you should I get caught up in my own head again. Thank you." He gratefully smiled and tapped his forehead against hers.

"…Don't mention it." Some hesitation filled her tone of voice, but Hestia happily accepted the gratitude in stride. The hurt she feels from knowing her helplessness to be unable help the one she loved was maddening but it was a feeling that tied her to him that much closer. If she can only empathize and feel all but a fraction of what he's going through, then she'll hold no regrets.

It was a far cry from the romance she had hoped to experience before descending to the Lower World, but it was **her** romance, and she'd see it through and embrace every moment of it.

"S-So back to the good or bad thing about…" She desperately wanted to steer away from this topic, unwilling to let herself break down again and shamefully let him be the one to console her like so many times before.

"Right…right!" He turned back to the Falna sheet and coughed in his hand. "I wouldn't say it's a bad thing. He's earned himself the power to wield the keyblade so that's a benefit, but…since I don't know much about it, I can't really say it's wholly a good thing either." He paused before an emotional mixture of confusion and warmth (?) caused his features to soften. "But for some odd reason, I trust it."

"Huh?"

"I don't get it either, but its just this feeling I've got. He could be chosen and there might be something else at play, but…" He placed his hand on his heart. "My Heart holds no trace of doubt whenever I really start to question it." The feeling was almost reminiscent to odd tearful elation he felt when he first met Bell.

_'Could this be the reason or is there something more?' He thought and continued to scan the sheet._

"So then everything's just fine." Hestia let out a sigh of relief and giggled. "Like you always say, follow your heart and whatnot. If it turns out that your feeling is right then there's no need to worry, but if something does go awry, then we'll be sure to handle it. So then there's no need to get worked up over it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He chuckled.

"Huhuhu~! Of course. As your Goddess, it's my job to always provide wisdom to help my faithful Children." Along with the added benefit to help cement for him to not doubt the feeling. "So, I guess this feeling of trust also applies to the skill too?"

Oh, right there's that, Michael mentally groaned. "Apparently so, but I take it its more for the fact of the name than the feeling itself." He intently looked at the title [Ephemeral Shadow] or more specifically, the "Ephemeral" part. It sounded a lot like…no, it was just a coincidence. A simple word that closely resembles the name of a friend, who should be (regrettably) long gone.

Even so why does his eyes always trail back to it.

"Why?"

"Urh…no reason." He noticed the signs of a pout forming on her lips. "Seriously. It's just something that captured my attention that's all. Besides, its description does sound helpful despite it being incredibly vague."

Hestia had to agree on that one. "I know right! Just what does it mean by a Shade coming to help him?" It sounded a little ghastly with the word "shade" being used, but a part of her was happy that there was some reassurance that her beloved Child would get more protection when in the dungeon.

"No clue." He sighed and rubbed his chin with intrigue. "But we'll just have to wait and see on what the skill is capable of."

"B-But what if whatever this skill is somehow possesses Bell-kun and messes him up?" Hestia whimpered.

"I know, I'm just as concerned too My Goddess, but making assumptions like that won't do us any good. Like you said, there's no need to get so worked up over it." He smiled and she flinched, he was successful in redirecting the Goddess' own words of wisdom back at her. "Should something happen, we'll take care of it, but for now lets be open minded and hope that it's a skill for Bell's benefit. We'll figure things out as we go." It was a **skill** so giving it the benefit of the doubt was fair.

"Guugh~! I really hate it when the Falna pulls this kind of vague crap."

"There, there…"

Hestia grumbled and soon settled down once her Familia's Captain returned to placating her with a couple of head rubs that she always reveled in receiving.

***KNOCK!* *KNOCK!***

Too bad for her it was cut short as the metallic rattling of knuckles against the wooden front door reached their ears. The pair looked to each and blink in surprise then amusement. Did their conversation really eat up that much time?

"I'll go get it." The Goddess strode her way towards the door as Michael turned his seat around to face their guest emerging from the shadows of the night and into the warm lighting of their closed establishment. "Come in, come in. You must be shivering from staying out in the dark for so long."

"Please forgive me for my lateness. I must humbly give you both my thanks for allowing me the opportunity to reconvene with you at this time of night." The voice of their guest held an indistinguishable echo that sounded both masculine and feminine that it was near impossible to pinpoint their gender.

"Nonsense. We know how much of a busybody you can be when that stuffy old God has you working 24/7." Hestia snickered as she saw the back of their guest straighten up at the mention of the ruling God that presided underneath the Guild. "So just relax and take a load off~! Besides, we've gotten used to these late night "visits" of yours, so don't beat yourself up."

Besides the night was still young, she still has her chance to properly "welcome" Michael back home with a little _fun_ afterward. So, there's no real rush.

"I see…" Their guest bowed their head. "Thank you for your understanding."

"C'mon, Fels, you don't have to be so stiff. Just think of this meeting as a brief reprieve before you go back to Old Man Ouranos." Michael smiled and waved. "Also, hi."

"Good evening, Michael-san. Though the reports of your arrival back to surface with your mission completed brought us some comfort, it does not compare to actually seeing you so hale and hearty in the flesh."

"Thanks. Things were a bit chaotic down there than usual, but I made sure there were no casualties faced when I assisted the others down below." Michael explained while folding away Bell's Falna, it was about time their focus shifted to other important matters.

"That's a relief. Were there any complications that I should be made aware of?"

"Apart from the Heartless and Monsters attacking each other and by extension the rest of us whenever we moved as a group, no. But if you're talking about the cohesion of the group during my supervision then that's another story. Unless you count *AHEM!*" Michael coughed in his hand and wore an energetic expression.

" _"Hey, hey, Mikiichi! I know we're making good time already, but why don't try going a little deeper today!"_ or…" Michael's bubbly impression soon turned gruff and snarly. " _"Peh! Damned human, who died and made you leader! You're only here to support us. not be our goddamn babysitter. So, stay away from us, shut up, and know your place!"_ as a complication, then that's up to interpretation." Michael shrugged.

"I-I see…" Michael could tell from the sweatdrop that their guest was sporting that it might as well have been. Except they were problems for two whole different reasons based on the impressions of the two most notable _special_ characters that reside in the dungeon.

"Now if you want more specifics on **them** , the best I can tell you is that they're still keeping their distance and observing us from afar. So basically, like the last time I went, there was no change. When I first joined up with the others after getting the mission, they told me that the frequency of their scouting parties getting attacked have considerably dropped." Michael explained.

"…This does not bode well…" Their guest raised one gauntleted hand to their chin that's masked under the dense shadows casted by their hood. If **they** were no longer hasty enough to attempt their typical attack and capture strategies anymore, then that could only mean **they** were plotting something.

"Exactly how I felt, which was why I told everyone before I left to limit any scouting beyond the necessary floors." Michael said.

"That's good. **They** may be sticking to surveil their movements, but it won't change the fact that should Lyd and everyone thin out their numbers by spreading too far apart, they'd still be seen as easy prey to pick off." Fels nodded, seeing the logic in Michael's warning. "I take it that there were some objections from you voicing that concern?"

Scratching his head, Michael bitterly smiled. "Only from the usual crowd." Of the two that came to mind, it was always the Gargoyle and Arachne, who still voiced their displeasure of his presence. "They might not like to hear it coming from me, but I'm sure they'll take it into account…" The young man tried to look assured by that but furrowed his brow and looked to Fels imploringly. "But if you don't mind…"

Nothing else needed to be said. Their guest nodded. "I'll be sure to inform Ouranos-sama and suggest limiting the use of the Xenos until we're able to perceive what our enemy has planned."

"Thanks. That's a relief." Michael chuckled as their guest followed with one as well.

"Well, it's just nice to have another ally to speak with and also worry about the health of our hidden friends." It may not look it what with the hood of the coat hiding their face, but Fels sounded like he was smiling.

"What? Mr. Level 7 isn't showing enough compassion for ya, Fels?" Michael playfully jabbed at his absent friend.

"It's more with the fact that his duties as Captain to the Ganesha Familia is keeping him too preoccupied from being a part time supporter to the Xenos like you." Fels felt for the Ganesha Familia's Captain's plight. "He and Ganesha are still trying to ease the public's concerns about monsters through the Monster Feria. Through exposure to that Familia's tamers culling the violent monsters of the dungeon, Orario's citizens will eventually become desensitized to their presence."

Looking intently at Michael then noticing the sudden disappearance of Hestia, Fels coughed into their hand. "But…an incident dealing with one of the two past Ferias has embittered the public's trust on the festivities."

"…"

True neutral. That was what Fels could describe the expression (or lack thereof) on Michael's face. To this day, that Monster Feria disaster from two years ago was still used to ridicule the event to this day. All investigations about the sudden release of ALL the captured monsters ended in a cold case with no answers. The only evidence they had was that half of them that weren't wreaking havoc had been focused on a single defenseless target: The Goddess of the Hearth.

It was obvious from the insensate guards who were stuffed away from the kennels and cages restraining the monsters that it had to have been a Goddess of Love. But the lack of evidence to pinpoint who the exact culprit was led those investigating to a dead end.

When questioned on whether they knew the culprit that targeted them, they both truthfully replied with having no clue, who was out for them to the authorities (Ganesha Familia). That was two years ago. One year and a half later, those within the Ganesha Familia tried to infer from the two again in order to better their security and see if they had figured out who wanted harm done to the Goddess. Hestia's reply was the same as it was last year.

While Michael's response…was generally the same save this time, his words did not match the hardness of his voice and the stone masked expression he wore. Those investigating clearly saw that there was something that had happened but were called off from further questioning them from orders of the Ganesha Familia's captain.

To this day, the young man has kept a tight lip, and Fels knew that trying to get answers of his own to take to Ouranos would unnecessarily prolong his stay in the comfort of his home for much longer than their patronage will allow. So, he decided to let it go.

"That's why Fair-san is putting his complete attention on bolstering the security of the Feria to ensure no more unfortunate incidents happen again." Fels said. "He and Ganesha-sama have even already planned in advance on how to accommodate the Xenos when their time to rise to the surface is near."

"I get it." Michael took a deep breath and exhaled. Then with a smile, he laughed. "But I guess I'm not the only one, who's going to be working himself stiff these oncoming days."

"Yes, I've heard about your extended summons to the Guild to give your lectures for the rest of this week. My condolences." Fels bowed.

"Gee, thanks." Michael huffed amusedly. "But at least I'm back home. It was fun hanging with the others down below while it lasted." He then snapped his fingers and pointed at Fels, who was taken aback by the gesture. "Though it does make me feel good to come back and see one of my pals enjoying the gift that I worked so hard on making for them."

He was referring to his guest's new form of attire. Gone were the old tattered robes and in their place a black leather ankle-length coat, with a large hood that concealed their face, and long sleeves. It has a large silver zipper with pulls at the top and bottom to seal the coat from both ends. It has two silver drawstrings for the hood, each with a large silver bead hanging from the end. It also has a silver chain ornament with lobster claw clasps on each end that fasten to loops on either side of the collarbone region.

Along with the black gauntlets they wore, Fels' entire body was enshrouded in concealing black clothing that hugged their unnaturally slim body.

"So…I couldn't be around to hear how your test run turned out before I left on my mission and I desperately want to hear your thoughts." Michael excitedly clapped his hands.

Gazing at the sleeves of their new attire, Fels quietly pondered on something before quietly giggling. "It's fascinating. It wards of darkness' corruption and negates curses fairly well." Daresay, he unquestionably put it a league above his old coat.

"See? Told ya it'd come in handy." Michael cheered. Another win for the powerful craft of Synthesizing. "Especially with your work in the shadows, you're more likely to run into Heartless, so a little precaution so no one would get hurt." He picked up his own black long coat on the seat next to and show it off. "If you don't like the style, you can always customize it like I did. It won't affect its protection against darkness plus…" He pulled the fabric and watched as it easily stretched and pulled in his hands. "It magically fits the size, height, and stature of whoever wears it."

"And your synthesizing made this?" Fels wondered aloud, intrigued by the magical clothing and the fact that something other than the [Mystery] developmental skill could create something this wonderful.

"Yep. Just followed an old recipe, gathered the materials, and got to work on it."

He didn't feel right to take credit for the creation of the Black Coat. Since the true first crafter of it was the Master of Masters, who needed protection while he was studying the depths of the Realm of Darkness. It was a difficult task to make his own coat along with Fels, but he'd been more than acquainted with the art of Synthesis ever since he was taught it as a little apprentice learning under the Foretellers with countless other children around his age.

Spotting how enthralled Fels was with result of his craft, Michael grinned. "Y'know, I can teach you how to Synthesis too." He's already taught their Familia's allies Miach and Naaza how to synthesize the more potent and volatile potions that many Keyblade wielders in Unions were taught to make. "But at a price…"

"…You're usually so charitable. What exactly do you wish in return for learning your craft?" Fels cautiously questioned.

"Easy, I want you to tell me you're true gender."

"…? What?" Fels was stunned by the quick admittance.

"C'mon. You can tell me! I won't tell anyone else; I swear!" Michael drew a cross of his heart and raised his hand.

"Why do you want to know my gender?"

"Because you've never told me. We've known each other for two years and you still haven't revealed that tidbit about yourself. The only thing you call yourself is Fels, the faithful follower to Ouranos, nothing more and nothing less."

"That's because I am."

"I-I know that, but you can share the secret with me. We've been friends for a while now, and I think that deserves a little trust. I mean, you haven't told Mr. Level 7 your gender, and you've known him for way longer than me, so I think this could be a real milestone in our friendship."

"…Did you make a bet with Fair-san to find out?"

"N-No…"

"…" Fels pondered and tiredly groaned. "I'm doubting your intentions on wanting to keep me safe from the darkness, but was part of your intention to make this coat for me because you wanted to know my gender?"

"Pfft! Of course not! I would never stoop THAT low, who do you think I am, Hermes?" Michael waved it off with an offended gasp. Then blinked for a while and nervously rubbed his neck. "But you are happy with the black coat, yes? So happy that you'd share your secr-?"

"No."

"I'll get you next time, Fels." The Keyblade Master didn't even try to deny it. Uncovering that secret before his friend was the only thing keeping him from claiming the sweet victory and his prize.

"We'll see, Michael-san, we'll see."

The two stood in a friendly tense atmosphere, which was soon broken by the oncoming footsteps of Hestia entering the main dining room from the back of the kitchen with a mug of coffee and platter of brownies.

"Huh, Fels-san? Were you just about to leave? Did you already give us the reward for the Mission?" Hestia wondered aloud why their guest was standing.

"Actually no…thanks for reminding me." Their visitor ambled over to the countertop beside Michael and pulled out from their coat a medium sized portable mahogany chest box. Opening it, they revealed the chest's glorious contents of valuable gold, silver rings, rare gemstones, and even a sizeable amount of Valis that filled the majority of the chest. But the cherry on top of it all was the Unicorn Horn.

"Thank you for your hard work and I only hope that our cooperation will continue to bear fruit for the futu-."

***SMACK!***

"Ow!"

Fels stopped to look over at the Goddess, who piteously whined to her Familia Captain for slapping her hand away from the valuable contents of the chest.

"Sorry, My Goddess. This will ALL be going to our coffers; you'll have to make back what you owe the hard way." Michael calmly wore a zen expression in the face of his puppy dog eyed Goddess.

"B-B-But this could pay off everything! Please~! Don't you love me enough to let this slide?" Hestia begged.

"My Goddess…" He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and gently smiled. "I'm only hard on you because I love you."

"Guh!" Hestia froze and slumped down in defeat at the handsome smile her Child shot her way.

Turning to Fels, the Keyblade Wielder chuckled. "Sorry about that."

"N-No worries. I-I've grown accustomed to Hestia-sama's quirks over the time of our partnership, and Ouranos-sama's warnings were the perfect heads up to mentally prepare myself." Fels sweatdropped.

"Ouranos has been saying what behind my back!?" Hestia hissed at their guest, her twin tails snapping about the place.

"There, there…"

"Hmph!"

Thank goodness Michael was there to placate here otherwise thing would get even more tiresome.

Picking up the Unicorn Horn, Michael frowned and turned to Fels. "H-Hey. Next time when you come over to pay us for the Mission could you please try not to include…this?" It filled the young man with a heavy heart to see a Monster Drop like this especially when he personally knew the rest of the Monster it belonged to.

"My apologizes, I know how dissatisfied you can be with these portions of your reward, but the others were quite insistent on giving you this as thanks for the constant support you've been giving them. I'll try to distribute these out to other adventurers who we'll call for aid, but I won't deny that I'll crumble under pressure to give these pieces of their gratitude to you if they're so insistent." Fels noticed that the frown didn't leave Michael's face. He's told him countless times that the parts they give out regrow over time, but it still did not appease the unsettling sight of seeing parts of his friends handed out so willy-nilly.

Its these signs of concern and discomfort that made him another apt candidate for Ouranos to reach out to and help aid the trapped Children of the dungeon, who so desperately craved to see the sun.

Stuffing the Unicorn Horn back into the chest and putting the chest away through a small portal into some other space unbeknownst to the Follower of Ouranos, who still to do this day cannot believe how nonchalant the Keyblade Wielder was with his odd form of magic.

He even continued to act like normal as if what he just did wasn't in any way shape or form abnormal. Well, if he wasn't already informed of the young man's **true** origin along with Ouranos, he'd have made a bigger fuss about it then.

"So…" Michael coughed, ignoring the whines that Hestia made at the now vanished reward chest of her broken dreams. "Did Mr. Level 7 ever give you what I asked for?"

Knowingly nodding, Fels reached into the confines of his coat once more to procure a meaty stack of organized files and handed them to the grimacing 19 year old.

"Woof. I knew it wasn't going to be good if I dug into this, but I wasn't expecting my lead to be this bad." Michael sadly sighed as he began to gloss over the contents of the files. "Looks like I'll have myself some homework to do while I'll giving lectures this week and doing patrols, perfect…" He tiredly groaned.

"Is there a reason why you requested the case files of dead Level 1 adventurers from Fair-san?" Fels asked, hoping to see the sudden logic behind the Keyblade Wielder's actions.

"Well, I figured that since those **guys** want to stick to observing and plotting against the others down in the dungeon, I decided to get the crazy idea to scope out any leads that might connect to them." Michael explained as he flipped through the files and wore a deeper grimace with each new page. "I already have something in mind…" He glanced over at their café's locked compartment containing all of their alcohol, and particularly stared at a fancy bottle of wine that was just too overpriced to buy more than one in a span of two months. "But first I need evidence, and _evidence_ to that evidence to confirm my lead correct."

"Is there any way I could assist you with your investigation?" Fels deemed the man's proactive response to those harming and capturing the poor children of the dungeon to be vital. Should he actually succeed, they may just get enough information to locate those responsible for threatening the lives of their allies.

"Yes, but not now, I'll be sure to contact you after I get through with enough of my findings." Michael chuckled.

"If that is what you believe is best." Fels nodded. "Then I'll take my leave." Fels bowed his head and began making his way to the exit.

"Wait, you're just going to leave that quickly?" Michael gaped.

"I don't want to impose any further than I already." Fels shook their head.

"Well, the night's still young." Hestia chimed in. "And I refuse to have a customer, who hasn't at least relaxed in our fine establishment!"

"E-Eh?" If they could see it, they would be able to tell that Fels' jaw dropped. "N-No, that's okay, you don't have to…"

"I didn't bring this coffee out for myself, Fels." Hestia gestured to the mug she brought out then snuck one of the brownies into her mouth. "I might've brought these out for myself, but this…" She pointed to the mug then to the cloaked being. "Is for you."

"B-But-."

"A few minutes won't kill you, well, it can't you any more than you are now…" Michael rephrased that knowingly. "So just relax, it'll be nice to chat for a while before you really have to go."

"…" Looking between the smiling young man and Goddess, Fels heaved out a wistful sigh. Their shoulders relaxed, and despite no one being able to ever see it again: they smiled. "Thank you." Moving back towards the front counter, Fels took the seat next to Michael as Hestia happily stood on the side of the counter indulging herself in the day-old brownies that were remaining from the day.

"Don't mention it." Michael returned to reading the files.

Raising one gauntleted hand, Fels carefully took their mug of coffee and was about to taste their first sip of caffeinated euphoria for the day, but…

***Staaaaaaaaaaare~!***

***Staaaaaaaaaaare~!***

"Is something the matter?" They asked, curious why they were intently staring at him.

"Well…" Michael began.

"Aren't you going to take off your hood?" Hestia finished.

"…!" The two didn't need to see their expression to see their shock.

"Y-You know if you want to. We know how you can be self-conscious about it." Michael scratched his cheek.

"Yeah, we won't mind if you want to make yourself comfortable." Hestia waved her arms about trying to explain.

"…" Fels thought about it in silence which left the Keyblade Wielder and Goddess very tense. "Are you sure? I don't want to make either of you uncomfortable…"

"Psshaw!" Hestia waved it off. "After coming down to the Lower World, I've seen tons of things that would give me nightmares that'll follow me back up to the Upper World. Seeing you let your hair…ugh…your hood down won't freak me out." Besides, she's already seen what's under that hood, and it honestly wasn't so bad (at least she's steeled herself not faint this time).

"Plus, if I'm going to be honest. This world has yet to produce something that could honestly unsettle me." Michael shuddered, he still remembered that talking cheshire smiling purple cat that played with its own disattched head like a ball of yarn from his childhood as a rookie Keyblade Wielder. Sometimes when he disappeared, the only thing that remained were its creepy wide smile and those beady eyes that just wouldn't **STOP** staring at him.

So as of yet, he's failed to see anything as unsettling in this world that could top the deranged madness that was the world of Wonderland.

"…Michael?" Hestia poked his shoulder.

"Y-Yeah, so don't worry, Fels." Michael shook it off. Great, now he'll have nightmares about that damned cat again. "Feel free to let it go around us."

"…" Taking a deep breath, their guest did just that. Some hesitation was evident from how they stopped mid-pull to take the hood off, but once they gathered the strength to go through with it, they were met with the kind smiles of the pair, who simply went back to reading their files and engorging on brownies.

Though Fels no longer had the lips to form it, he was sure that if he could, he'd be wearing a smile right about now as he unclenched his bleached white jaw to partake in the delicious coffee and enjoy the comforting silence of the Heart Café after hours.

**Hey, guys, I hoped that you enjoyed this concluding chapter to Keeping Up with the Hestia Familia introductory arc. So, I covered a lot of stuff this chapter, and the last chapter, so this Author Note might be a bit too long, but I'll be as thorough as I can.**

**P.S.- The Growth Acceleration of Bell's Falna is also on Karen's from the earlier chapter as well, I was still figuring out what to put on the skill, so…**

* * *

**_Karen Morris_ **

**Level 1  
** **Strength: S927  
Defense: D610  
Dexterity: A850  
Agility: A838  
Magic: C627**

**Skill**

**[Awakening of the Blessed Key]: Unlocks the user's true potential, which is only found within them should they possess a strong "Heart". Moderate Growth Acceleration. Boosts offensive and magical parameters.**

**[Noblesse Oblige]: Increases the user's parameters of strength and agility when directly engaging an opponent in combat.**

**Magic**

**Blizzard- First-Tier Ice Magic**

**Fire- First-Tier Fire Magic**

* * *

**The choices that Keyblade Wielder makes in their Dive to the Heart affect the growth of their skills and Falna:**

**-Sword (Offensive Parameters)**

**-Shield (Defensive Parameters)**

**-Staff (Magical Parameters)**

**-Journey will begin at dawn: Rapid Growth Acceleration**

**-Journey will begin at mid-day: Moderate Growth Acceleration**

**-Journey will begin at midnight: Reduced Growth Acceleration**

* * *

**So, I'm going to get the elephant (I AM GANESHA) out of the room first, yes there is a Final Fantasy character in the fic, who's been around in Orario for ten years and in the Ganesha Familia. You all might have pieced it together from this chapter, so all I'll say is look forward to the amount of hell that Revis will face for taking the life of one of HIS own. Just like Keyblade Wielders, the Final Fantasy characters aren't people you want to fuck with.**

**Now for this chapter, I addressed a concern that readers might have had dealing with the story's sudden two-year time skip: Michael's trauma from the Keyblade War. It's still there. He hasn't magically gotten over it, and the only good thing to result from the time skip was him no longer snapping into episodes of the traumatic experience like he did in the Prologue. Now he'll still have these episodes, but it'll have to be severe to dredge them back to surface again.**

**Another thing this chapter did was calm any detractors, who have issues with Hestia's known possessiveness that exaggerated in the anime and sometimes the LN by getting to know her perspective about her relationship with Michael. I wanted to depict her possessiveness in a negative light, so she'll do her best to better herself after the revelation that her shallow attempts at showing her love weren't going to heal Michael of his trauma. Also, the knowledge that no matter how hard she bettered herself it wouldn't ever relieve him of the weight he carries.**

**This plays a part as to why she's so accepting of Iris also forming a relationship with Michael along with him actually answer to the Goddess' feelings. She's willing to detract herself from her overt clinging to better herself and try to figure a selfless way to make Michael without selfishly imposing her love onto him so carelessly without considering his feelings. Making her the perfect foil to the story's well-known Goddess of Love, who'll make her debut eventually.**

**Oh, right, so yeah, Michael's coat is a customized version of the coats that Organization XIII wore, which were originally made and worn by the Master of Masters. So, there's that.**

**Also, I really wanted to make a wholesome chapter especially there at the end with Fels, who's more or less been acquainted with the Hestia Familia for a while now.**

**Now lets move on to the next chapters…after I figure out what to name them because making titles that sound clever and work is hard.**

**Now time for me to get some rest since I've been cranking out chapters for days now** **… Expect a fun little Short in the next chapter.**

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**Well, I'm Out so Peace Out, and have a lovely day!**


	9. MyHbyGK Short: Chat with the Lost Key

**Retribrutus: Hello everyone, and welcome to this little short! I hope that you all enjoy these brief segments from the stories to see characters get asked questions that answer and satisfy the curiosity of so many like you the readers. The questions will be asked concisely, and the characters will in turn answer them the best way that they can. Now let's move on to this chapter's lucky guest, Michael, _The Lost Key!_**

* * *

"Hello, everybody! My name is Michael, and it's nice to be here." The young man happily waved to the readers. "I hope my answers will satisfy any questions might have regarding…pfft…" He had to take moment to think about it. "Just about anything that you have in mind. I'll do my best to answer your questions to the best of my ability. So, let's get started!"

With a smile and two thumbs up, the segment's questions began.

* * *

**Question #1: Is Michael really your only name? Or were you just born without a surname?**

* * *

Coughing in his hand, Michael awkwardly laughed. "…Well, my first name is simply the name that I prefer to use. I was actually born with a surname, but I just choose not to use it…" Michael sadly and wistfully sighed.

"The only ones, who do know it are My Goddess, my two best friends and Chi…" He frowned. "One obviously found out through first giving me my Falna, the other two…aren't around anymore to keep it a secret and Chi…"

"Keeps it a secret because they don't understand why their Keyblade Wielder is so embarrassed about it." Spoke the Chirithy, who popped out of nowhere sitting beside the young man.

"Waaah! Chi? Since when did you get here?" Michael yelped in surprise and almost fell out of his seat.

"Not important. I'm only here to act as your fact-check." Chi shrugged.

"Fact-check? I have every intention on answering the questions as best as I can. I'm not going to outright lie." Michael quirked an eyebrow at his Chirithy, who did the same back.

"I know. Except sometimes you wholly believe you're telling the truth despite the fact that reality is telling you otherwise."

"…Chi are you calling me insane?"

"Nope. Just delusional. We've yet to reach **that** threshold yet…" Chi snidely teased.

Giving his Chirithy the stink eye for a second, the keyblade wielder turned back to addressing his question. "So to confirm things. Yes, I was born with a surname, but don't expect me or anyone **else…** " He shot a pointed look at Chi who tiredly hung their head and shrugged. "To tell you. It no longer holds that much significance to me anymore…"

"You say that and yet you act so ridiculously self-conscious for having a last name called St-mmmph!" A hand muzzled the Chirithy before they could finish.

"NEXT QUESTION!"

* * *

**Question #2: Since you were from a time when the World was whole and not splintered into isolated worlds; could you describe what it was like back then?**

* * *

"Ah…I guess I could…" Michael thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "Its hard to put into words **_what_** the world was like. At best, I can tell you that it was a World where anything it was and could've been, could be possible to happen at the same time. Anything you can imagine, nay, anything beyond the imagination was possible. This birthed within the World an infinite number of possibilities in the form of other worlds."

A big smile formed on his face. "Back then for simply living in it, you'd feel…whole. Like your part of a grander design under the pure light that radiated from Kingdom Hearts that birthed the World and presided over in the Realm of Light."

Chi nodded in understanding and nonchalantly patted the pack on their belly. "Its easy to tell now that…" They both exchanged a sad look. "The World was no longer whole. The world that Orario presides in feels…so small and less like _home_."

"Not that we're saying that the world itself wasn't big on its own along with the others. Its just that compared to the one World, it along with the others feel incomplete." Michael rubbed his neck.

"I never felt this way back then when I and the others went to the other worlds to gather Lux, but that must have been the fact that they were projected worlds from the Book of Prophecies instead of the actual remnant worlds that we're seeing today."

* * *

**Question #3: Do you know how long ago the Unions were formed before you joined?**

* * *

"…That's a tough one to answer…" Michael bit his thumb's nail. "Because I was taken into my Union at the age of 10, I was still technically a youngling. Um, younglings were essentially children under the age of 12, who received their keyblade, but weren't considered ready to journey out to the worlds and face the Heartless on their own."

He breathed in deeply then scratched his head. "So, when I turned 12, I heard the Foretellers and their Unions had been around for 20 years. So, accounting my next five years, I'd say that the Unions were around for a solid 25 years. Right?" He turned to Chi, who gave an impressed nod.

"Correct." Chi sang. "I'm glad that you at least remembered."

"Hard not to forget the best period of your life and beyond…especially after everything falling out." Michael coughed and scratched his ear with a slight frown.

* * *

**Question #4: In Chapter 4, it was stated Keyblade Wielders, who were impatient for their Union Master to deem them ready to take the Mark of Mastery took the danger _Ordeal of the Heart_ instead. So, did that mean there were Keyblade Masters besides the Foretellers back then?**

* * *

"Sure did." Michael chuckled. "When I first joined the Unicornis Union there were a couple of Keyblade Masters, who acted as teachers when the Foretellers weren't able to teach us younglings. Each Union had their own number of Keyblade Masters who deferred to their Union's Foreteller.

"But just because they were deemed official Keyblade Masters didn't mean they would form their own Unions and take on apprentices since they were still students to the Foretellers themselves. It's a form of Hierarchy that each of the Unions followed." Michael bit his lip then turned to Chi. "That's why I'm sure that Chi could a better job with explaining the Hierarchy much better than I can."

"…Is that about your last name?"

"Nope~!"

Being put on the spot the Chirithy shook their head. "*SIGH!*" After unloading that dragged out sigh, Chi took a deep cough and pointed to the white screen besides them depicting a pyramid graph of each of the levels. "When devising the Unions, the Original Five Masters, the Foretellers wanted to arrange the rank of their Apprentices for better doling out the appropriate level of difficulty for their tasks."

The white screen zoomed in on the bottom part of the pyramid which depicted the faces of young children. "So, starting off with the bottom rung of the hierarchy, we have the Younglings. Keyblade Wielders, who are deemed too young and inexperienced to journey forth to new Worlds and collect Lux from the Heartless. They were kept in Daybreak Town to learn how to appropriately defend themselves, know of the nature of their new duties as Keyblade Wielders and learn of the importance of Light and defending Kingdom Hearts."

Next, the screen zoomed upwards on the pyramid's next rung and depicted the faces of pre-teens. "Next, we have the Beginner Keyblade Wielders. Those who are fresh out of basic training and are finally able to venture out to other worlds. The tasks given to them are fairly easy and simple with little casualties."

The screen then zoomed onto the next rung with the slightly older faces of pre-teens and teenagers. "Following that, we have the Junior Keyblade Wielders. Those who have garnered an exceptional amount of experience during their time traversing through worlds and facing stronger Heartless. The difficulty of their tasks was considerably more dangerous than the Beginner Keyblade Wielders, its when Keyblade Wielders reach this rank that the fatalities to the Heartless begin to magnify."

Chi's ears drooped down at the morbid knowledge and Michael bitterly nodded in agreement.

"Soon after being deemed strong enough and sufficiently completing their Lux quota and Union Master's tasks, a Keyblade Wielder can then become a Senior Keyblade Wielder." Going up, the screen revealed the third to the top rung of the pyramid depicting the faces of much older teens and young adults along with a small picture of Michael's face.

"Hey." Michael waved.

"These Keyblade Wielders have been acknowledged by their Union Masters for being the best of the best and given personal tasks and solo missions to investigate and exterminate unknown and powerful breeds of Heartless. Sometimes, they play a supporting role in helping Keyblade Masters teach new Younglings being inducted into their Unions. It's when a Keyblade Wielder reaches this rank, they're chances of being chosen by their Foreteller to take the Mark of Mastery and become a Keyblade Wielder is given a definite increase."

Now, finally the screen moved up one more rung on the pyramid. It was the second to last rung before reaching the top. It depicted the golden words of "MASTER!" in it. "Finally, we have the Keyblade Master rank. These are Keyblade Wielders, who have proven themselves the cream of the crop by showcasing their hard work and proving the strength of their heart to their Union Master. Those who receive this title are given the privilege to teach the Younglings and lower ranked Keyblade Wielders. They also have the authority to issue out tasks to their Union's Keyblade Wielders and undergo Investigations of the worlds and Heartless on their own."

"Not to mention it is usually a custom for a newly made Keyblade Master to develop their own style of combat that's feasible and can be taught to the Younglings." Michael chimed in much to Chirithy's annoyance. "The original case of this were with the individual Foretellers developing Keyblade stances like the Stance of the Unicorn or the Stance Bear. They each carried a different style that complemented the type of Keyblade Wielder they were. Like Master Gula's incredible speed, Master Aced's monstrous strength, and Master Invi's arcanist prowess in Magic."

"What happened to leaving me with the explanation?" Chi bristled.

"Sorry. Just wanted to put my two cents in too." Michael nervously laughed.

"Oh, yeah? You sure that you weren't trying to set up speaking about the Stance that you've "developed" since you became Master?" Chi accused.

"A-A little, but I can wait until I finally reveal it to everyone later." The young man shrunk back in his seat as Chi's stare grew more intense.

"Hmph!" With the interruption silenced, Chirithy then focused the attention of the focus on the very top of the pyramid depicting the five sigils of the Foretellers. "Finally, we have the last rank that could never be achieved by the Keyblade Wielders below it: Grandmaster. These are essentially the Union Leaders of their respective groups. Keyblade Wielders under them automatically defer to them as they were the very pinnacle that every Keyblade Wielder strived to be during the Age of Fairy Tales."

"Meaning, even acknowledged Keyblade Masters couldn't compete with them." Michael spoke from experience since he nearly died at the hand of four out of five of them. "Back then they were simply on a whole new level. The only reason I survived was because I lasted much longer than any of them had anticipated. There was also something about my "potential" but it still didn't stop someone like Master Aced from trying to rip me apart…"

Michael shivered, the memory of almost dying in that ditch still haunted him. One of the Masters that he once respected REALLY took his aggression out on him once he realized that he belonged in the Unicornis Union. He had been aware that Master Ira and Master Aced used to be rivals and never got along, but it still was terrifying to be used as an outlet like that by the Bear Masked Foreteller.

"Ahem!" Shaking it off, Michael smiled. "So that should do it with how things worked. Keyblade Masters for their respective Unions deferred to their Foreteller. Thanks for the help, Chi."

"Next time a little fair warning before putting me on the spot would've been nice." Chi snarked. "However, this conversation does remind that Master Ira was considering to put you through the Mark of Mastery back then. Not that it matters now since you already put yourself through hell with the **Ordeal of the Heart**."

Michael's smile fell as disappointment etched itself onto his features. "When learning as an apprentice, I was more than thrilled to work hard and earn the title of Keyblade Master based on my efforts alone. However, once everyone started going crazy over getting the most Lux and fighting/killing each other for it, Senior Keyblade Wielders were getting chosen to take the Mark of Mastery left and right." His face scrunched up at the memory.

"The test no longer had meaning. By then it was simply a way for the five masters to increase the ranks of their Union's "Keyblade Masters" out of desperation and might than acknowledging the merit and strength of the Wielder they've chosen. The whole thing felt like us Seniors were being conscripted into the army than simply a test to see if the strength of our hearts will grant us to be worthy of the title of _Master._ "

"Yeah, I remember that…" Chi groaned.

Taking a deep breath, Michael clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Next question!"

* * *

 **Question #4: So random question, and don't look too into this, but…your keyblade can open ANY door, right? Even doors that are say…made of Orichalcum and Adamantite?** **[ EPIC FORESHADOWING!]**

* * *

"Okay. That's a very specific question to ask…" Michael raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. "But yes, the keyblade can open and lock any door. Whether the lock be physical or metaphysical, the Keyblade will _always_ be able to open it without fail."

* * *

Someway, somewhere, a deep chill crawled up the back of a heavily focused man chipping down a hallway under the district of Daedalus Street. It was but a fraction of a second that his work was interrupted.

…Weird…

These thoughts were soon clouded and drowned out by the accursed blood that flowed through him, and enthralled him with the unquenchable desire to see the completion of their Family's lifetime of work.

A thought for later, thought Barca Perdix. A thought that would reemerge on the worst day of his life when a passing Wolf and a Fallen Bull of Heaven that lost its Heart would inevitably clash and indirectly demolish his and his ancestors' life work.

* * *

**Question #5: Ever since you ended up in Orario, have you been to other worlds and interacted with them? Maybe some of the real worlds that you've been to when they were originally data-based projections?**

* * *

"Well…after getting over the fact that the one World was forever splintered and left a broken caricature of what it once was, I did go and observe the other worlds. The worlds that we Union keyblade wielders travelled to in the past were the first ones that I visited. I know that unlike the data-based projections from the Book of Prophecies, the people who inhabit the real worlds won't even recognize me." Michael looked forlorn but kept his smile. "But…the connections I made back then won't change. Even if the real inhabitants don't recognize me and regard me as a stranger, I'll help them. Being fake or real doesn't matter, they're still my friends and I'll do everything in my power to handle their troubles."

"Well said! …But I'm pretty sure the question also asked if you interacted with them as well." Chi reminded.

"Right…" The Keyblade Master scratched at his head. "So, believe it or not, the worlds like Agrabah, Dwarf Woodlands, Castle of Dreams, Enchanted Dominion, and Wonderland seemed fine. Sure, there were some Heartless, but not enough to cause concern like here in Orario." Michael rubbed his chin. "Seemed to me like _someone_ already helped clear things up before my arrival. Well, places like Olympus Coliseum look to be a work in progress because of Hades, but I'm sure that the real Herc can handle it for now."

"You sure that you're okay with not introducing yourself to them?" Chi asked.

"Everyone seemed happy and I didn't want ruin things by popping up out of nowhere to introduce myself. They're safe and happy, and that's all that I can hope for. Plus, who knows, maybe I will get to meet the real Aladdin, Hercules and Cinderella one day. I'll just have to hope with all my Heart and believe for such a day to come." Michael calmly placed his hand over his heart and closed his eyes.

"Careful." Chi playfully laughed. "You might accidentally summon the Fairy Godmother if you believe that hard."

Laughing just as hard as his partner, Michael grinned. "True…true…"

"Now I might not have interacted with the Disney worlds that the Unions went to in the past, but I did help out one world. It was a fun time actually! Especially since I got to learn a new language and tons of recipes that really gave so much variety to Hearth Café's menu." Michael excitedly bounced about in his seat. "But whether I should tell you all up front about it…well, allow me and Chi to explain."

"Oho, this is going to be fun!" Chi shared their Wielder's enthusiasm as they turned to each other and engaged in a fast-paced conversation.

"Dites, Chi, pensez-vous que Little Chef serait dérangé si je l'invoquais au café en tant que cuisinier invité?" Michael asked.

"Dépend. Nous devons encore être conscients. Il est toujours très occupé à gérer son propre restaurant cinq étoiles." Chi shrugged.

"C'est vrai, très vrai. Mais je suis sûr que cela ne le dérangera pas de revenir pour aider à enseigner à Hestia et Iris une ou deux autres recettes." Michael chortled.

"Tant que cela ne le dérangera pas d'avoir affaire à une déesse gaspilleuse comme Hestia..." Chi tiredly groaned and facepalmed.

Giving the readers, a cheeky smile, Michael grinned. "I hope you guys enjoy translating that. Next question!"

* * *

**Question #6: Have you had any more mishaps with "holding back" ever since you started your life in Orario?**

* * *

"Umm…ehehehehe…" The young man smacked his lips and nervously laughed as he cheeks began to flush red.

"You have no idea…" Chi tiredly groan, then let out another groan after realizing how many times they've groaned since coming here.

"I'm not saying that the adventurers in Orario are weak. They're fairly skilled and are a formidable threat to the Dungeon's monsters and the other inhabitants of their world. Its just that…" Michael looked away and scratched his head. He really didn't want to sound too arrogant or overconfident.

"He was given no frame of reference to properly realize if his level of strength was adequate or inadequate when facing what the world deemed as it's "Strongest" adventurers." Chi calmly explained.

"I-I really don't enjoy accidentally going too hard and injuring them should I be forced to enter an altercation with them. I was surprised how easy those Level 1s went down when I saved my Goddess, so when the unfortunate opportunity came when I was forced to face a Level 5 adventurer, I sort of thought…" Michael gulped. "Since this guy was leagues above those Level 1 dirtbags that harassed my Goddess, maybe I should go all out and test what he can do…"

"…Thus after experiencing such a devastating loss, the obnoxious birth of a one-sided rivalry between you and Bete Loga was formed." Chi coyly jabbed.

"H-Hey! H-H-He put up a good fight." Michael tried to salvage an already dead and beaten argument.

"For thirty seconds."

"H-He was still drunk…"

"He instantly became sober after he spotted you in the "House of Fertility" and pulled you out to fight." Chi countered.

"L-Look. I'm not saying I didn't go overboard. It was my mistake for thinking that he and most others were a similar case to people like Cloud and...him…" Michael shuddered at the memory of a single **black winged** man filled with darkness during his, Skuld and Ephemer's tournament escapade in Olympus Coliseum. Cloud was dangerous in his own right and was a proper challenge. But against that **Monster** , he was genuinely _scared_ for his life since his swordsmanship was at a level that was downright ridiculous even for a Keyblade Wielder.

Hell, there were rumors and tons of caution given to wielders by their Unions to be careful of the Olympus Coliseum tournaments since Keyblade Wielders and even a single ranked Keyblade Master have been reported to _disappear_ after taking part in the matches.

On that day he knew exactly who the cause of the problem was.

The amount of times where he almost died in that single match couldn't be counted by just his two hands. That was how powerful that guys was! Luckily the best that Michael could manage was a draw before the Monster lost interest and took off.

And that was just a data-based projection! Now that he was shunted into the World's future, his chances of running into the **real deal** just skyrocketed. Doesn't help that his friend, the Captain of the Ganesha Familia had a run in with the **Monster** eight years before Michael had arrived in Orario **.**

So, excuse him for practicing that much caution when faced with otherworldly combatants. "Bete is still a powerful adventurer in his own right. He's strong…well, not nearly as strong as Master Aced. B-But he's really fast…well, in comparison to Master Gula, he's not THAT fast…"

"I'm sure if he were here, he'd be foaming at the mouth to hear all of these backhanded compliments." Chi dryly stated.

"W-Well, at least after that I was given some reference when I **had** to face adventurers who were below and above Level 5." Michael groaned at the exhaustive memory. That period of dealing with **her** fanatically devoted Children were just bothersome. "Still it helped me with my current method on appropriately holding back though."

* * *

**Question #7: If you had an opportunity to face the One-winged Angel again, would you ta-?**

* * *

**"Hell. NO!"**

…

"Next question."

* * *

**Question #8: What was your reaction to the Epithet you received from the Gods and Goddesses during the Denatus once your Level Up to Level 2 was announced?**

* * *

"I hate it." Michael crossed his arm in a miff gesture.

"Still the only one who does, Michael." Chi said. "Goddess Hestia says that out of all the other possible nicknames that you could get like _'Porcupine'_." Chi gestured to the young man's spiky hair. "Or _'Burning Fighting Fighter'_ , _'Lost Key'_ was actually the best name that you can get." Chi remembered the relieved expression on the short Goddess' face. He had even heard her mumble actually liking the name while Michael voiced his distaste for it.

"Well, its not. I'm just not fond of a title that emphasizes my current predicament is all." Michael glowered.

"Michael…" Chi looked empathetically at the young man.

"Besides…why was the word _Lost_ used…I've never been…" Michael murmured to himself, well, it was intended for his ears only but…

"…" Chirithy deadpanned and gave Hestia Familia Captain the stank eye. "You're mostly sore about it detailing you're hopeless sense of direction, aren't you?"

"N-No! I don't have a bad sense of direction and that has nothing do with the fact that I hate that moniker. Seriously…I'd rather prefer the stuffy of "Savior of Daedalus" than be called that." Michael groaned.

"Mmmmhmmm…" Chi gave a sickeningly innocent hum in faux agreement making the man cross his arms and stubbornly look the other way. "Just move on to the next question, he's going to be like this the whole day if we linger on this…"

* * *

**Question #9: Are you proud of Karen for looking out for Bell and giving him that slice of cake at the end of Chapter 7?**

* * *

"Hm? What cake? And Karen really did that? I have no clue what you're talking about." Michael knowingly winked as his bright smile turned wry. "Though it is "nice" to know that she's still smuggling food into her room. That's a long chat that we're going to have after this is over."

* * *

**Question #10: Is there a business rivalry going on between the Hearth Café and the Hostess of Fertility?**

* * *

"…Not as much a special rivalry as you might think. I mean, every type of business has a rivalry so we're not exactly butting heads if that's what you mean." Michael's gaze sadly went to the floor. "Well…financially, we're not butting heads. Our types of customers differ from the Hostess's. We're a café, so our customers usually come in here to relax and enjoy the coffee and other entrees that we provide. We get the occasional new customer every now and again especially with two High Class adventurers running it."

"With one of those Adventurers being the _'Lost Key'_ who's been responsible for clearing the streets of Heartless on a daily basis." Chi just had to put that in there.

"Yes…" Michael tiredly exhaled. "There's that, and usually that fame leads to some people trying to join the Familia and try and learn how to get a Keyblade out of me." He rolled his eyes as memories of tossing out unruly adventurers, who didn't handle rejection very well came to mind. "My Goddess and I are very selective on who we choose to join us. We need to know that their intentions are good, that we can trust them, and see if our Familia can provide for any of the goals that they aspire to. If we can't, then we'll recommend them to a few other Gods that are friends with our Familia like the Miach and Takemikazuchi Familias. If even they won't suffice, then we'll tell them to just go to the Guild and let them see if they can help."

"But back to the businesses, our café brings in a more chill crowd than the Hostess of Fertility which is a pub that attracts many rowdy adventurers and citizens. They have regulars like us, but they're sure to gain more attention for being around longer than our homely establishment. Still, we manage to keep and steadily grow our crowd of faithful customers with growing and varied menus."

Michael sighed. "The Hostess is a great place and I suggest for some of my customers to go there for a good time. Sadly, I'm no longer welcomed there due to…complex reasons…"

"It was truly a shame that happened. I quite enjoyed going there too." Chi nodded.

"Chi, you know…that it only applies to me, right? You and the others can go and visit any time you want." Michael raised an eyebrow.

" **I know.** That's why I'm staying with you. I'm sure the others would agree even despite all of them save for Iris not knowing the real reason why you're unwelcomed there."

"Thanks." The Keyblade Wielder smiled at the utter loyalty his Chirithy displayed and petted him on the head.

* * *

**Question #11: You've run into the "Sword Princess" before haven't you? What are your thoughts on her? Has her beauty taken your heart away, and have you've fallen for her so hard that you developed a skill that defined the strength of your love for her?**

* * *

"Not really." Michael answered without a shred of interest. "Yeah, I've met Ais. She's…fine." He tried to smile, but it seemed a little forced. "Conventionally, yeah, she's obviously beautiful just like how the sky is "blue". But I don't think I would fall in love with her right off the bat because of her looks. I know Karen would throw a tiff if she were here to hear this, but just the thought of being in a romance with Ais would feel like dating Karen. And I can't see that happening. That would officially breach past the levels of my awkward tolerance."

"…Poor Karen…" Chi hung their head low and shook it.

"Hm?"

"No, its nothing. Continue."

"O-Okay…"

Michael also raised an eyebrow at the specifics of the question. Was there something he was missing?

"In fact, I'm not really interested in her that way. She's a nice girl." Michael awkwardly answered. "I dunno. I've met her, and despite our first meeting being hectic and her giving me a bit of bad first impression."

"She attacked me." Chirithy waved their arm.

"She **tried** to attack you." Michael corrected with a smile that didn't reach his narrowed eyes that hid an underlying trace of anger. "But I gave her the benefit of the doubt since she wasn't the first and certainly wouldn't be the last person to mistake Chi for a monster. Still, I'm a bit cautious of her when she's around Chi especially after she started acting strange when I explained that he was a _Spirit_ Dream Eater.

"So, yeah, after that, I got to know her a little better from each of our passing interactions. Her interactions with Karen are troublesome while at the same time endearingly cute. So that brightened my impression on her. Like Karen, she's innocent in a way, but gravely differs from my student in the form of the Darkness that rages on within her heart." Michael grew serious as he recalled the first thing upon his meeting with the Sword Princess. "It's a wonder that she hasn't succumb to Darkness based on how she just lets it rage on in her. Not to mention, how she recklessly threw herself at those Invisible Heartless without any forethought on what they were and how extremely dangerous they were…"

Soon, Michael gravely looked to the readers. "Which comes to the exact reason why I'll say that whether I was romantically interested in Ais, it would not matter in the end. Because right now, the last thing on her mind is love. No, she doesn't even grasp the concept of it."

Michael shrugged. "So, for anyone, who grows sweet on her, I can only offer my condolences. If there was someone capable of dispelling that absurd amount of darkness clouding her Heart, then I'll gladly pray for their success. But until then, be aware that if you're not a "Monster" or someone holding a method to give her more "Power", then she won't be _interested_ in you. Don't feel too bad if that interest isn't the type that you're expecting."

"Too bad that you fall in the latter category of those interests, huh?" Chi said.

"Yeah, and too bad that I'm not even considering giving her what she wants." Because he's heard from Riveria exactly the kinds of reckless escapades the Blonde swordsgirl gets into when in the dungeon, and he didn't feel it was a good idea to give her off all people a Keyblade. Not that he would considering, he'd only Bequeath to those who he deems worthy and are in his Familia.

He'd never allow what happened to Unions to happen again by recklessly handing out Keyblades to adventurers, who are in service of the Gods and Goddesses, who often hold their own agendas. Agendas that are selfishly put above protecting the innocents from the Heartless.

* * *

**Question #12: What are your thoughts on Bete Loga?**

* * *

"He's fine." Michael shrugged.

…

"What? You expected more than that? Look, I understand that Bete can be a dick, but he's not THAT bad unless you actually see what's beyond the bravado of his. It might be easier for me considering I've been trained as a Keyblade Wielder to understand the bonds made between my Heart and others, but the signs are still there. It doesn't excuse his attitude, but I can empathize with his pain and that's enough."

"Too bad, he's still heated at you for…" Chi referenced the last question pertaining to the Werewolf.

"I admit that we started off on the wrong foot, but my point still stands." Michael shook his head, then furiously narrowed his eyes. "Besides, when stood next to a **certain** Cat Person in a **certain** Goddess' Familia, you'll see that Bete looks like an actual saint in comparison. Iris would definitely agree with me on this one based on experience."

Seriously, Michael thought. At least, Bete had some good qualities that he could with one hand. Even Michael of all people had some difficulty trying to look at positives that Cat person had, and the best thing he could think of was that he has a nice little sister…that he apparently disowned…

Now…its not really his place to get in defense of her anymore after what he **did** to her brother. He'll only apologize to her for the harm he inflicted, but not for his intent to do **anything** to protect his loved ones.

Sadly, it further added to the tension made between him and another one of the Hostess of Fertility's workers.

* * *

**Question #13: What are your thoughts on the God, Hermes?**

* * *

"He's an ass. Next question." Michael swiftly answered.

"Still mad that he found you while you were lost, and tricked you into wounding in the Pleasure Dis-?" Chi began.

"I wasn't lost and NEXT. QUESTION!"

There was obviously a story (a hilarious one) behind that response, but it was best not to delve any further at this point.

* * *

**Question #14: Ever since you came to Orario, have you faced anything that even you couldn't defeat?**

* * *

**"Listen closely because I'm not repeating myself."** Michael's eyes widened and his pupils scarily turned to pinpricks as he sternly whispered. "Always take caution on the 18th Floor of the Dungeon. You may think it's a Safe Zone, but its not. Not after that **Heartless** settled there. The Good news about it being there, the chances of a Floor Boss stumbling down there to wreak havoc in Rivira are low. The Bad news, it's capable of dealing with that Floor Boss and any other threats that try and destroy its potential prey."

Michael's eyes dangerously narrowed. "This Heartless is only interested in collecting the Hearts of the STRONG. After I came into conflict with it, it won't go seeking out any adventurers that catch it's interest. It will only engage should something go after it's wellspring of prey in Rivira, or if someone were to approach it in its territory." He nodded to himself. "You'll know when you're near it based on the trails of weapons. When you spot it, you're left with three chances to back out in steps."

One finger was held up. "One, after your first step, It will lock eyes on you. If you're not looking for a confrontation, immediately look away." He held up his second finger. "The second step is the step of no return. By this point, It will think that you want to combat it and prepare itself. Now, you have to keep eye contact with it. If it sees your eyes and if you back away, it will acknowledge you stepping down from the challenge. If it can't see your eyes, then it will immediately attack you without waiting for your third step."

"Speaking of your third step…" Michael held up his third finger. "By this point, your choice has been made. Even if it was by mistake, It will not allow you to escape, but it won't engage you until you're properly armed. You must fight it. If you lack the sufficient strength to kill it, you will be left with two fates. It will take your Heart, or it has acknowledged your strength and will allow you to leave in the hopes of claiming your Heart for a later date once you've grown stronger."

"This Heartless isn't one to take lightly and shouldn't be engaged. EVER." Michael stressed this out. "My first encounter with it was during my Ordeal of the Heart, and I barely survived based on the limitations I imposed upon myself during that test. The next time I went to face it at my best without holding anything back, I just **could not** kill it. The longer I fought it, the more it improved and grew stronger. It amazed me that someone's Heartless could be that strong and that proficient with all those weapons." It made Michael wonder, who it belonged to in their original life before they were lost to Darkness.

"Anyways, heed my warnings. If you encounter it, don't fight it. If you accidentally do engage it, then offer it your Weapon and it will be appeased."

* * *

**Question #15: So…you're a thing with Hestia and Iris…does that mean you really are building a Harem for yourself like Bell believes?**

* * *

"No." Michael plainly stated. "At first, after my Goddess confessed her feelings for me, I accepted her. If she found it in herself to fall in love with a worn guy like me, then there's no way that I wouldn't reciprocate and find it in myself to try and do the same for her. At the end of the day, I genuinely want to make her happy, and I have the potential to do that by being with her."

"…Too bad at first that meant you two were keeping each other _happy_ by shamelessly engaging in-." Chi began to recall uncomfortable memories of how intimate the new couple were.

"AHEM! I will admit that I was a little enthusiastic about some aspects of the relationship when I was younger and more…in my…hormones." Michael coughed. "But my feelings did not change, I still wanted to be with her and make her happy."

He grinned. "The same could be said for Iris after she had the courage to confess to me too. She was surprised that I accepted her as well since she already knew that I was in a relationship with My Goddess as well. My Goddess also surprised the both of us for being accepting towards the addition of Iris into our relationship. Hence our polyamorous relationship began."

"It had a rocky start." Chi explained.

"But relationship doesn't. Its only more amplified by the fact that I have to take into account the feelings of two people instead one. It might seem like a lot of work, but like I've said multiple times. I'll do it and more just to make My Goddess and Iris happy." The loving smile on Michael's face grew as warmth filled his Heart. "To reiterate my answer: No, I'm not building a Harem like Bell thinks. I'm providing love to those, who found it within themselves to supply their love to me first.

"Its easy to talk about having a Harem, but the amount of work to have one isn't something to gloss over. You're heart will be intimately connected to so many others, and with such a close connection, you possess the power to also hurt them than anyone else ever will. Bell's a good kid, but that dream of his is seen in too much of a vague, naïve perspective. Love takes time and won't automatically be perfect after supposedly saving a damsel from a dungeon." Michael explained.

"Looks like you have some extra material to teach him once his punishment is over."

"Y-Yeah. Better to nip this bud by the stem before it blossoms into a future problem." Michael tiredly shook his head. "So no, I'm not building a Harem. I'm making those, who I love happy. Also, if others have the courage to express their feelings to him as well (with no hidden intentions or agendas), then he'll respond appropriately to them and speak whether he can provide for them the happiness they seek or not.

He knows that not everyone seeks the same form of love. He won't stand for a relationship that's so artificial just to make the other person happy. It wasn't fair to them just as it won't be fair to him.

Because false kindness is the cruelest thing that he could ever do to someone bravely baring their heart to him.

* * *

**Question #16: Last Question, what does you and Iris' Falna stat sheets look like? Also, what are your levels?**

* * *

"Don't you already know. Officially by the Guild, Iris and I's respective levels are "Level 2" and "Level 3"." Michael mischievously smirked. "Now I can't show you guys Iris' Falna since that personal to her alone. But I guess I can show you my Falna sheet."

"Oh, boy…" Chirithy facepalmed though a hint of entertainment was found in their voice.

"BEHOLD!" Pulling the sheet from out of his coat, he showed it's and wrinkled page for all the readers to see!

* * *

**_Michael_ ** **[Redacted]**

**Level** **[Redacted]** **"3"  
** **Strength:** **[Redacted]** **  
Defense:** **[Redacted]** **  
Dexterity:** **[Redacted]** **  
Agility:** **[Redacted]** **  
Magic:** **[Redacted]**

**Skill**

**[Awakening of the Ancient Blessed Key]: Unlocks the user's true potential, which is only found within them should they possess a strong "Heart". Moderate Growth Acceleration. Boosts offensive and magical parameters.**

**[Howl of Penitence]:** **[Redacted]**

**[Master's Watchful Eye]: Those who've been blessed by the Key and are acknowledged as the user's students, will experience a boost in their growth and parameters while within their presence.**

**[Redacted]** **:** **[Redacted]**

**Development Abilities:**

**Darkness's Bane: (** **[Redacted])** **Improves abilities against the denizens and creatures of Darkness.**

**Swordsman: (H)**

**Abnormal Resistance: ([** **Redacted])**

**Advanced Meditation: ([Redacted])** **[Redacted]**

**Mage: (** **[Redacted])**

* * *

"Bam! I hope that satisfied everyone's curiosity because that's all you're getting! Hahahahahahaha!" Michael maniacally laughed.

"…You forgot to show your magic, too." Chi said as they examined the redacted the Falna sheet.

"Yeah. I decided to just show this one. Magic took up another whole page." Michael sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Not that it would matter since its pretty much like the first page."

"I feel like this will tick off the readers…"

"Probably, but it will give them incentive to stick around for the rest of the story and find out what my Falna had to offer me." Michael grinned.

"Ah, so a Bait and Hook. Clever." Chirithy devilishly giggled.

"Well, that does it for this Short! Thanks for staying tuned and listening to me ramble on!"

"Take care everyone, and I hope that you continue to follow the rest of our story." Chi adorably waved the lovely readers goodbyes.

"See you all next time in " _Halcyon Days in Orario!"_ Yeah, that's the name for the next set of chapters! Look forward to it! Bye!" Michael excitedly waved his arms in farewell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There that ends that little Q&A. I hope this was entertaining for you guys because now it's time for the story to continue! Now before I continue on with say goodbye, I just want to address what I've told to a reader, who's review that I replied to. Its common knowledge that KH characters have been nerfed in Fanfic stories to fit them into a tighter narrative and artificially increase stakes. This story is not one of them. The fantastic and ridiculous power/stakes of KH and Final Fantasy will still linger in story, but it won't make the fic a Power Fantasy.
> 
> The point of Offworlders like Michael interacting with other stories like the Danmachi Universe is to inspire change in the characters and events whether that be for best or worse. So, when Michael was brought into the Danmachi World, he's essentially bringing all of the good and chaotically bad things of the KH Universe with him along with another offworld FF character, who will be introduced later.
> 
> So, the main point is…that the known cast of Danmachi are going to need to step up in order to keep up with the craziness of the KH Universe otherwise they'll be easily swept away from powers that dwarf even Michael alone.
> 
> Well, it's been nice and all everyone! I hope that you all enjoy your day!
> 
> I'm Out so Peace Out!


End file.
